Kevin: Break from the Abyss
by Hatter-Break
Summary: When Kevin returns from the Abyss, he finds that he had lost something very near and dear to him: a girl, his best friend.Now, he struggles to find a reason to continue living, and with Shelly's help, he might be able to.Lost and Found included
1. Chapter 1

The last thing Kevin saw, was his dearest friend crying, trying desperately to hold on to him. He had given her a small smile, before his hand slipped out of her grasp, and everything went black. When his eye fluttered open, he was dazed, and confused. He had no idea where he was, or why he was there, until he turned his head to see his empty hand.

"Quil…" he murmured, tears forming in the corners of the one eye he had remaining. The other eye, the left, wasn't even there anymore, instead there was an empty eye socket that was bleeding profusely, and was causing a pain like he had never felt before. He clenched his bloody face in a weak attempt to stop the bleeding. His eye darted around the room, trying to get a good sense of where he was, but it was difficult when his vision was blurry, and his ears were ringing. He heard light footsteps, followed by heavier ones. Kevin tensed a little, not knowing if he was still in the Abyss. He realized, that if he was, he was as good as dead, seeing as he could hardly stand, let alone defend himself from chains. He saw the faces of a shocked brown haired man with green eyes behind glasses, and a young red-headed girl with violet eyes. 'A girl?' he wondered to himself.

"I'm not…trapped" Kevin said amazed.

"Sharon, go get your mother." the brunet said, then kneeled beside him. "We'll get you help soon." he assured. Kevin shook his head.

"No…she needs help…she's lost…she's gone." Tears streamed down from his eye. "She's gone…" Then, he slipped into unconsciousness once again.

The next thing Kevin knew, there were indistinct voices coming from beside him. It's not that they weren't loud enough, he was just in too much of a haze to make them out. He realized that he was in a bed, and opened his eye. He noticed that his left eye had been taken care of. Kevin saw a blurry face hovering over him, until his vision cleared, and he realized it was a woman. She looked like the girl he had seen, but older, and there was something about her eyes that made him trust her immediately. He didn't know if it was the overwhelming kindness reflected in her mauve eyes, or the appearance of wisdom beyond her years.

"I'm glad to see you're awake." she stated.

"Where am I?" She smiled.

"You're in the Rainsworth mansion. I am Shelly Rainsworth. Can you tell me how you got here?" He thought for a moment.

"I don't really…I was in the Abyss…" He bolted up, which made him extremely light headed, but he didn't care. "Tranquilla! I have to go back, she's still with the Will of Abyss!" Shelly gently pushed Kevin back down.

"You have to relax. If your friend didn't come back with you, she's either stuck there, or she'll come back at another time. You can't save her, I'm sorry." He glared up at the woman.

"I need to! I….I…I love her…" She stroked his cheek.

"I really am deeply sorry, but what if she comes back before you rescue her? You should be here for her when she comes back. Now, can you tell me your name?" He was about to say Kevin Regnard, but for some reason, he didn't want to use his real name. He remembered something a blonde boy, with astonishing crimson and golden eyes, had said when he was down there. He had said, "If I unleash the Abyss, then everyone will break….break, and become strange! Then I'll finally be normal!" He thought about it for a moment.

"Break. Xerxes Break."


	2. Chapter 2

After Kevin, who was now Break, changed into the green outfit he had been given, he sat in the room Shelly had asked him to wait in. He looked sadly at the necklace in his hand, and rubbed his thumb back and forth over the sapphire pendant that reminded him so much of Quilla's eyes. He had planned on giving it to her when he confessed his feelings, but now Break wouldn't get that chance. He realized that all he had to look forward to was seeing the Sinclairs again, since the will of Abyss had agreed to grant his wish. The door opened, and he stood out of habit. Being a servant, it was what he were expected to do.

"That clothing suits you Xerxes." Break nodded.

"Thank you lady Shelly." She sat in the seat he had just occupied.

"Now, can you tell me where it is you were wanting to return to?"

"I am a servant to the Sinclairs, and I was hoping you could take me there." A look of surprise and confusion crossed her face.

"The Sinclair family?" He nodded. "I'm sorry, but…they were all killed nearly thirty years ago." His heart skipped a beat, and he tried to say something, but he couldn't find it in him to speak.

Finally, he managed to say, "S-surly you must be mistaken, I just saw the little one a few weeks ago." Shelly shook her head sorrowfully.

"She, along with the rest of the family, was murdered." He shook your head slightly. For a moment he were incredulous, he thought it must be a cruel joke. Then the reality of it hit him. Break had been in the Abyss for at least thirty years, trying to make things right. If things had gone the way he had planned, he would be with the Sinclair family, and have a beautiful fiancé, but they hadn't. He had lost the love of your life in the Abyss, and the family that he had planned on reviving, were all dead, including the youngest daughter who had initially survived. He had fought to live in the Abyss, and when he came out, he had nothing to live for. Overwhelmed, Break fell to your knees, and Shelly kneeled in front of him. He reached for the sword that was usually at his hip, and remembered that he had left it in the room, so he reached for the dagger that he kept on him, to find it missing as well.

"Please kill me." he begged faintly.

"Pardon?"

"Kill me." She looked at him, confused.

"Why?"

"Just Kill me!" he screamed desperately. She rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Xerxes. I have no right to take a life that should be lived." He clenched his fists.

"I've lost everything. I have no purpose, no future, I'm just living a pointless life." She thought for a moment.

"What if I told you that your friend will most likely return, and gave you a purpose to live?" He looked at her, her kind eyes boring into his own.

"I…" He heard small footsteps behind you.

"Mother, there you are!" It was the young girl he had seen briefly when he first woke up there.

"Sharon dear, come here, I have a favor to ask of you." Sharon, who was the spitting image of her mother, ran up to Shelly, who whispered something in her ear. Sharon turned around to face him, a gentle smile on her face. Suddenly, she wrapped her small arms around him.

"Come on, cheer up Xerk-nii sama, you can live with us!" she said, her voice filled with kindness that nearly mimicked her mother's. Break's eye widened for a moment at the nickname she had given him, and the fact that she had called him her brother.

"I…uh…" Break glanced at Shelly, who nodded approvingly. He hesitated for a moment, going over all of his options. Break closed his eye, and sighed. "Thank you little one."


	3. Chapter 3

Break spent your first few weeks living in the mansion, locked in his room, almost regretting his choice to live. He sat on his windowsill, looking out at the garden. As he had for the past few weeks, he subconsciously started scratching at his wound, making it bleed. When the pain made him aware of what he was doing, he didn't stop, he figured it was what he deserved for being a fool, and meddling with things that shouldn't have been meddled with. The door opened, and Reim, the man he had met when he first arrived, came in.

"Shelly asked me to-Stop that!" Break glanced at him, then back out the window.

"Go away." He walked closer.

"Stop, you shouldn't be picking at it!" he demanded.

"Go away, don't look at me." He walked over, and grabbed Break's arm to stop him. He didn't know why he was so angered by Reim helping him, but it got the better of him, and he lashed out. He shoved Reim back, and he fell. "Don't touch me!"he yelled. He looked up at Break, his eyes betraying his slight fear.

"Break, he was only trying to help you." Shelly walked into the room, followed by Sharon. He looked away from her, ashamed. She helped Reim up, and gave him his glasses. She came towards Break, and sat beside him. Shelly grabbed the towel that Reim had brought in, and began dabbing his face. He flinched a couple of times.

"Lady Shelly, I..." She put a finger to his lips.

"Shh...you don't need to make yourself suffer. The past is behind you now, keep it there." She took a little more than a half an hour to rebandage your eye. Break tried to pull away a couple of times, but gave up. When she finished. she stepped back, and smiled. "Now, there's somewhere I wanted to take you, but first, Sharon insisted on taking you outside with her, if you're up to it that is." Sharon nodded. She grabbed his hand, and looked up at him.

"Please Xerk-nii sama?" She asked pitifully. He didn't really want to leave the peace and quite of his room, nor was he very eager to try and entertain a child, but he figured he owed the Rainsworth family.

"Alright." Shelly smiled.

"When you come back in, we'll go." With that Sharon dragged Break outside. He sat under a tree for about an hour, watching Sharon play in the flowers. He thought about the times he had spent in the Sinclairs' garden with Tranquilla, and Emily, the youngest daughter. Quil would play with her, while he watched, then they would beg him to join them. Sharon ran up, interrupting his thoughts.

"Break, look at the flower, it matches your eye!"

"So it does." She held a red rose out to him.

"Here, it's for you!" He didn't know what to say. He took it and gave her a small smile.

"Thank you." She giggled, and sat behind him. "What are you doing?" he questioned.

"Oh, nothing." Break felt her messing with his hair. She pulled a little.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, just stop moving." When she was finished, she slung his hair over his shoulder so he could see her handy work. She had braided his ponytail. "There, like it?" He nodded.

"Thank you Milady." She grabbed his hand, so he stood up.

"Lets go in now, Mother wanted to take you to Pandora Headquarters."

"Where?" She shrugged.

"It's some organization she's part of. She said she would tell me more when I'm, old enough to understand."

When they got in, and found Shelly, she asked, "Did you have fun?" Sharon nodded vigorously. She smiled. "That's good. Sharon, I'm leaving you here with Reim, so behave, okay?"

"Okay." With that, Shelly led Break out to the carriage, where she explained where they were going.

"Pandora is an organization dedicated to studying the mysteries of the Abyss, and one in particular, the tragedy of Sabarie." He cocked his head to the side.

"What's that?" She sighed.

"It probably happened around the time you fell into the Abyss. The Baskervilles somehow managed to drag the whole city of Sabarie into the Abyss." His eye widened. "It was a horrible incident, but nobody knows how the Baskervilles pulled it off." He thought back to when he saw the blonde boy in the Abyss.

He had said, "I did it, I opened the door, but when I did….everyone fell in!" He looked at Shelly.

"Is it possible that it wasn't the Baskervilles?"

"It's possible, but we're pretty sure it was."

"Oh, I see…" They arrived at Pandora Headquarters, and Shelly began giving him a tour of the organization. He noticed several of the workers give him odd looks, and even caught a few whispers about him. "Um, Lady Shelly…"

"Just ignore them." she assured. "Most of them are just a little wary about the fact that you came from the Abyss."

As she said that, he heard someone whisper, "He's kind of creepy, isn't he? Reim said he doesn't talk much." Break just glared at the man, but he didn't see you. Shelly led him to a large room with a long table in the center of it.

"This is where the four dukes come to discuss any findings with one another." He looked around, admiring the elegance of the room.

"So, this organization studies every aspect of the Abyss?" She nodded, and smiled slyly at him.

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning Xerxes. I'm sure if you worked here long enough, you would find a way to get that girl out of the Abyss."

"Then how do I-"

"I'll have to speak with the Dukes, but I'm sure you'll be allowed in, but…" He cocked an eyebrow.

"But…?"

She sighed. "You're going to have to make a contract with a chain."


	4. Chapter 4

When Shelly had told Break that to join Pandora, he would need to form a contract with a chain, he had panicked. He knew that forming a contract with Albus was what had gotten him into the mess he was in now, and he didn't want to make anymore stupid decisions.

"Now Break, when I say you have to make a contract, I don't mean the like the one you made with your previous chain. The contract you would be forming this time around would be a legal contract, made by using a process developed by Pandora. Lets go home, and I'll explain everything."He nodded, and followed her out. Once they were at the Rainsworth mansion, they sat outside under a tree with.

"I need to save her, but… getting a new chain, I don't know if I can." She put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not going to make you do anything that you don't think you can do." she stated. He clenched his fists.

"If I have to, I will." Shelly smiled.

"Just think about it." She surprised him by hugging him to her. "Just relax, and think about it." He closed his eye.

"Thank you." Before he knew it, Break was fast asleep. When he opened his eyes, he saw Shelly looking down at him, laughing a little.

"Did you have a nice nap?" He sat up quickly.

"My apologies Milady." he said, embarassed.

"There's nothing to apologize for if you were tired, you needed the sleep." He looked around, and saw that the sun was setting. Break stood, and helped Shelly up.

"Break!" Sharon bowled into him, and he almost fell over. She held up a frail pink flower. He couldn't help but let a small smile slip onto his lips. He took the flower, and put it in her hair.

"There." he stated.

"Can you carry me Xerk-nii sama?"

"Sharon!" Shelly said. Break chuckled, which earned him a surprised, yet triumphant look from Shelly.

"Sure thing little one." He lifted her up, and she let out a giggle. As he took a walk around the garden with them, he made his decision. "Lady Shelly, I am going to form a contract with a chain." he said, determined.

"So your mind is made up?" Break nodded.

"I will get Quil out of the Abyss, and then…" He took the necklace out of his pocket, and just looked at it.

"I see." she stated.

"Oh, it's pretty! Can I see it?" Sharon asked from his shoulders.

"Sure." He handed it to her.

"Not to intrude, but how could you afford that as a servant?"

"Well, I was a knight for the Sinclairs, so I was paid a fair amount, but that wasn't enough. My master was very generous. And when I told him about my plans, he gave me the money I needed." She nodded.

"You miss them, don't you?" He looked at the ground.

"I do, however, I am glad I got the chance to live with you." She smiled. Break meant it. He realized just how much the Rainsworths had helped him, and figured he owed them his life. If it hadn't been for them, he probably would have found some way to kill himself. He just glanced at Shelly, and murmured a quiet, "Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

A lot happened throughout the next several years. In an attempt to change who he was, Break cut his hair. He had been admitted into Pandora, given a uniform and a seal, and formed a contract with his second chain, Mad Hatter, which stopped his physical aging process. It was a massive billowing cloak, topped with a hat, which was adorned with dead flowers, and playing card that said 'Love and Peace'. Its power, the ability to destroy any energy from the Abyss, was a horrific ability. He and Reim formed a good friendship, despite his aggressions towards him when they had first met. He had watched Sharon grow into a strong willed young lady with her own chain, Eques, a black and violet unicorn. She had moved into another mansion owned by the Rainsworths, and brought him with her as a personal servant.

"Break, Reim is here, he said he has some information on the Baskervilles." Sharon called. Break poked his head around the doorway.

"Ah, Reim san, how are you?" Reim looked at him.

"I'm glad to see that you used a door this time." Break smiled.

"Boring as ever I see." Reim scowled, making him laugh.

"Anywho, what information is it that you have us?" He sighed.

"Tonight is Oz Bezarius' coming of age ceremony-"

"We know that." Break stated.

"Well, Pandora has a bad feeling that they're going to make an unwanted appearance." He sat on the table between Sharon and Reim.

"We'll just have to go pay Oz an early visit then, won't we Milady?" She nodded.

"I suppose we will. Thank you Reim." When he left, Break turned to Sharon.

"We should probably leave in an hour if we want to get there early." he stated. She nodded.

"I'll go get ready." He nodded, and figured that je should too. He quickly changed out of his purple and white outfit, into a more formal black outfit, then went out to the balcony to eat cake, and to wait for Sharon. She finished right as they had to leave, and they hopped into the carriage.

"Break, please just stand back, and let me do all of the talking" He smirked.

"Why is that, you don't trust me to be serious?" he asked innocently, cocking his head to the side.

"Of course she doesn't trust you!" Emily, the doll on his shoulder, stated.

"Aw…that was mean." Sharon scowled.

"This is why I'm doing the talking." She stated, annoyed. He threw your head back, laughing. When they arrived at the mansion used for coming of age ceremonies, they were greeted by Oscar Bezarius, Oz's uncle.

"Ah, Miss Rainsworth, it's been a while." She curtsied.

"It has, it's nice to see you Oscar sama." He turned to Break.

"And Xerxes, good to see you again as well." Break bowed.

"As always it's a pleasure Oscar." He led them into the mansion. Sharon walked ahead, while Break spoke with Oscar.

"You didn't send a letter, what brings you here so early?" He shrugged.

"Reim told us we should make an attempt to come." Break lied. "He said it was going to be fun."

"I just can't beleve that my nephew has grown up so fast. I knew he was getting older, but his coming of age ceremony..."

"It was bound to happen at some time."

"That's true, but it makes me feel so old."

To lighten the mood, you said, "Hey, at least being old means that end of all of this, we can just sit and drink our worries away." He laughed.

"My, you really have changed since you first came to Pandora." Break cocked an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Well, you've become much more open, and downright cheerful. I'd say it's thanks to Lady Shelly." He nodded.

"Probably." Sharon spoke with Oz, warning him that people would try to use him, and explaining that he had her support, as well as Break's. As they left, he looked at Sharon.

"That went well." She nodded.

"Because you didn't talk. Anyways, what did you think of him?"

"I think he's perfect for you Oujou-sama." he said, snickering. She smacked him across the face with her paper fan, shutting him up.

"You're going to be more involved with him than I am." Break looked thoughtfully out the window.

"I suppose that's true, perhaps he'll be the key to getting Quilla out of the Abyss."


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days passed quietly, aside from the fact that Pandora had been right, and the Baskervilles had cast Oz into the Abyss. Break and Sharon had received a letter from the Nightray dukedom, informing him and Sharon to convince Oz's young servant, Gilbert, to live with them, seeing as they had adopted his brother, Vincent. When Break had met Vincent, he recognized him right away. Vincent was the boy Break had seen when he was in the Abyss, the one who, he suspected, had something to do with the Tragedy of Sabarie. Now, Break were walking down a muddy path, carrying an umbrella due to the rain.

"Why do I have to talk to the brat…" he mumbled. "Oujou-sama's more compassionate anyways…" He flinched at the memory of why it was him going, and not her. "Stupid fan…" He shrugged. "At least I can use this to my advantage, right Emily?" She just sat there. "Fine be that way." He saw the young boy up ahead. He was sitting in the mud, shaking, so Break assumed he was crying. He walked up behind him. "You're going to catch a cold you know." He turned, startled. His wet black hair hung in his golden eyes, which were puffy from crying.

"Wh-who are you?" Break smiled.

"I'm Xerxes Break, servant to the Rainsworth family. Don't you think the others are worried that you snuck out in this kind of weather, with an injury no less." He just looked down. "Anyways, I have some great news for you Gilbert." He looked up eagerly.

"Have they saved the young master?" He shook his head.

"Afraid not, however, an aristocratic family would like to adopt you, like they have your brother."

"My…brother?" Break nodded. "Who?"

"The Nightrays." Gilbert looked at him as if he had just struck him.

"I can't, that would be betraying the young master!" He shrugged.

"Oh well." Break started to walk away. "I guess that ruins our plans to save Oz."

"What?" Break stopped, smirking.

"It looks like I've peaked your interests, hmm? You see, the power the Nightray house holds is great enough to open a portal to the Abyss." He just stared at the ground, fists clenched. "It may be a pain, but, seeing as you're still recovering from your injury, I'll carry you back." He went to pick Gil up, but he panicked, and pushed Break back. His hat fell off, and the hair that usually hid his missing left eye, moved. Gil's eyes widened with horror.

"Your…your eye, it's not there!" Break brushed your hair back into place, and put his hat back on.

"My apologies, you weren't supposed to see that, but yes, it is missing, I lost it a long time ago." He stood, brushing himself off. "That's exactly why I need you to do this." He put a hand over your empty eye socket. "I need to monitor the Nightray household, but it would be exceedingly difficult with one eye, wouldn't you agree? That's why I need you to be my eye…my precious left eye." He pulled a piece of candy out of his pocket and gave it to Gilbert. "I need you to monitor the filthy Nightrays." He looked up at Break, fear still blatant in his big eyes.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Break grinned.

"You don't, you just use me, as I am using you." He hesitated, then nodded.

"Alright." He smiled.

"That's a good boy." Gilbert did exactly what Break had asked him to, and more in ten years. He became part of the Nightray family, and kept him informed about them, especially Vincent. To his surprise, and pleasure, he had also managed to make a legal contract with Raven, the dukedom's chain. With Raven's power, he could open portals to the Abyss, which meant Break had finally acquired a way to save Tranquilla. Sharon found an old abandoned church, that he, Gilbert, and she were now sitting in, preparing to save Oz Bezarius. "Oujou-sama, do you think…" he began as Gilbert was about to open the portal, but something interrupted him. There was a loud ripping sound, and a bright flash from behind them. Gilbert ran past him and Sharon.

"Oz!" Sure enough, he turned to see Gil lifting the blonde boy up.

"Impossible…" Break muttered. Gilbert hadn't even opened the portal, yet Oz had returned on his own from the Abyss, a prison that no mortal should be able to escape from.

"That just proves that he's the key." Sharon stated. He nodded.

"I hope you're right."


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Clown!" Alice, Oz's chain, who had been a pest to them for months, snapped. Break looked up from the plate he had been licking clean of frosting.

"Yes?"

"I felt some energy from the Abyss just outside the mansion, but it faded really quickly." He licked the plate one more time, not wanting to put the sweet thing down.

"Alright. Hey Oz-kun, lets go check this out." He nodded, and they went outside. Break moaned out of annoyance because of the cold rain, and the puddles it had formed. Oz ran ahead, stopping in front of what looked like a person laying on the ground.

"Break, come quickly, Alice was right, there's a girl!" His eye widened, and he ran, and kneeled beside the girl. When he saw her, his heart leaped, but he couldn't be sure. He saw her eyelids move a little under the hair in her eyes, and glanced up at Oz.

"She's conscious." he stated. Break brushed the hair out of her eyes and gasped. Two perfectly clear, blue eyes looked up at him. She was dazed, but it was her, it was Tranquilla. "Oz, you can go in, I'll be there in a moment. He nodded, and went in. "Are you able to sit up?" She nodded, and did so.

"Where am I? Who are you?" She didn't remember him. He had waited so long to see her again, just to find that she's forgotten him. He realized that he was going to have to stay strong, and make her remember. Break smiled to hide his pain.

"You're in front of the Rainsworth Mansion, safe and sound. As for who I am, I'd like to ask you the same question." he stated. He understood that he had to be ready to start over, even if it meant a different outcome than he had planned.

"I'll tell you. If you tell me." He chuckled, muttering,

"You're still the same….Fine," Break put his hand into his pocket, and grasped the necklace. "You can call me Xerxes Break, or just Break, if you prefer."


	8. Lost and Found Ch1

Tranquilla felt rain hitting her face, and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up through the hair in her eyes, at the gray, foreboding sky, wondering where she was. She heard footsteps splashing towards her.

"Break, come quickly, Alice was right, there's a girl!" Whoever it was being spoken to, their pace quickened until they got to her. Whoever it was kneeled.

"She's conscious," the second man stated, his red eye flicking up to glance at the boy beside him. She couldn't help but feel that the man's appearance brought a sense of nostalgia washing over her. He brushed her hair away from her eyes, and gasped. "Oz, you can go in, I'll be there in a moment." The blonde boy nodded, and headed in, wherever "in" was. "Are you able to sit up?" Tranquilla nodded, and carefully did so.

"Where am I? Who are you?" she questioned. For a brief, he looked disappointed, even hurt, but his features quickly melted into a smile.

"You're in front of the Rainsworth mansion, safe and sound. As for who I am, I'd like to as you the same question." She scowled, getting a sense that the guy was messing with her, and she wasn't liking it.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me."

He chuckled, muttering something that sounded like, "Still the same…" under his breath. "Fine, you can call me Xerxes Break, or just Break if you prefer."

"Tranquilla Lummnus. You don't happen to know how I got here, do you?" He didn't answer her, instead, he stood, and pulled her up. She wobbled a little bit, but he caught her.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked, as he walked Tranquilla to the mansion.

"I…yes, my chain…" She looked down. "My Bandersnatch is gone… and my best friend, I was in the Abyss…" She realized something. Glaring, she pushed Break, the supposed man, away from her. He simply laughed to himself.

"My, you're quite bipolar, aren't you?"

"Shut up! You can't trick me, I know I'm not in my world, I'm still in the Abyss, so cut the act!" Break smirked.

"Hmm…let us assume that you are correct, and you are still in the Abyss. If I really were a chain, first of all, I would have attacked by now, second of all, what would you be able to do Quil?" She just looked at him with a mixture of wariness, and annoyance for a moment.

"I guess…I wouldn't be able to do anything." she admitted reluctantly. He held out his hand.

"Trust me?" She shook her head.

"Not at all." Despite that, she took his hand.

"That's a good girl." They continued to the mansion, but something struck her as odd.

"_How did he know my nickname?_" she wondered.


	9. Lost and Found Ch2

Tranquilla poked at the cake she had been given, feeling awkward due to all of the eyes on her. There was the green-eyed blonde, Oz Bezarius. His chain, Alice, or B-rabbit, was a young girl with violet eyes, and black hair. There was the handsome raven-haired, golden-eyed man, Gil Nightray, who also went by Raven. Last but not least, there was the young red-haired girl with mauve eyes, whom Break served, Sharon Rainsworth, and of course, Break himself.

"So, what you're telling me, is that I've been in the Abyss for one hundred years?"

"That's correct." Sharon stated.

"I don't understand, why can't I remember anything?" Quilla sighed, placing the fork on her plate. Break took it upon himself to pick up her plate, and eat the cake for her. She could tell he had a fervent sweet tooth, thanks to the stack of plates that had accumulated at his seat.

"We're hoping your memory loss is a temporary side effect of being in the Abyss for such a long period of time." he explained.

"I was in there for a while, and I didn't forget a thing." Oz stated.

"She was in there ten times longer than you were." Gil pointed out.

"Shut up seaweed head! Only I'm allowed to contradict him, he's MY manservant!" Alice snapped.

"No, he's MY master!" As the two bickered, Sharon continued.

"Like Break said, we think it's temporary, and we'd be delighted to have you stay here with us until your memory returns." Quilla smiled.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Sharon returned her smile.

"Break, would you mind taking her to one of the extra rooms?"

"Gladly Milady." He held out a hand to help her up, but she stood on her own, still not completely trusting him. As they walked down the long hallway, he examined her. She heard an odd voice chuckle, and turned to see who had laughed, but there was nobody there. "I'm sorry, I guess I forgot to introduce you to Emily." She noticed the doll sitting on his shoulder for the first time. She cocked an eyebrow.

"Um…hi…I guess?" she said, but the creepy thing just stared at her.

"Anywho, Emily, you need to keep your moth shut, and, if Quilla doesn't mind, I'd like to ask her a question."

"What?" He suddenly became serious.

"What happened to your chain and your friend?" She stopped.

"Well…there was this girl who destroyed my chain and…the floor began to crumble…I lost my grip on my friends hand, and he…" Tranquilla couldn't finish, nor did she want to. He was silent for a moment.

"I see. Well, this is my room right here, so you can take the one next door. " He walked over, and opened the door to let her in. As she stepped in, he smiled. "Good night, oh, and here, I know this will calm you down." He placed a piece of hard candy in her hand. Break walked away, and she unwrapped the candy, and popped it into her mouth. It was here favorite, butterscotch.

"What a coincidence." she muttered to herself.

Break's POV 

Break looked out the window, a frown tugging the corners of his lips downwards.

"Hey, what's wrong with you clown?" Alice asked rudely, as usual. Before he could answer, Sharon spoke up.

"It's that girl, isn't it? Tranquilla is part of the reason you were so bitter when you came from the Abyss, she's your lost friend." He looked at her, surprised that she had figured it out.

"Yes, she is." She motioned for him to sit beside her on the couch, so he did.

"Then tell me, why are you so disappointed?" He sighed, slightly annoyed that Sharon didn't find it obvious.

"She was my first, and only friend, and she's forgotten me." She placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"We'll make her remember. Starting tomorrow, you need to spend as much time with her as possible. You said it yourself, it's only temporary." Break nodded.

"I hope so."


	10. Lost and Found Ch3

Tranquilla sat up, rubbing her eyes. Sunlight was pouring in through the window. She heard a knock on the door next to her bed, so she got up to answer it.

"Good morning Quilla-san!" Break exclaimed cheerfully.

"Morning Xerxes." she said sleepily. She went to brush her hair, when she realized something. The door next to her bed led to nothing more than a closet. She whipped around furiously, glaring at Break. "How the hell did you get in here you creep? Get out!" He pretended to pout.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing…"

"Doesn't mean you can come waltzing through the damn closet! How'd you get in there anyway?" she snapped. He replied, but not with an answer to your question.

"Aw come on, lighten up. Gilbert is making some breakfast and tea, so lets go eat." She followed him unhappily, to find that the 'breakfast' he had been talking about, was simply an assortment of cakes, and a melange of other sweets.

"Good morning Tranquilla." Quilla nodded in greeting.

"Good morning lady Sharon." She watched as Break practically inhaled at least ten slices of cake, and devoured who knows how many candies, and couldn't help but laugh. He looked at her in the middle of licking a plate clean of all crumbs and frosting.

"Wha?" he questioned, his tongue still glued to the plate.

"You just…remind me of someone…I guess." He smiled, and continued ardently licking the plate. They, well, Break, finished the cake, and decided to relax on the couch for a little while, finding entertainment in Alice and Gil's argument.

"Do they always do this Break?" He popped a piece of candy in his mouth, as if he hadn't already had enough.

"I'm afraid so, though, as you can see, it is rather amusing sometimes, especially when they're drunk." He laughed a little, smiling a mischievous, and reminiscent smile.

"Break?" He looked across the room at Sharon. "Do you mind doing some shopping today?" A bored expression suddenly clouded his eye.

"Isn't that Gilbert's job? Or perhaps the rabbit can do it." he said, his voice laced with laziness.

"I would like you to do it." Her tone was composed, however, you felt a threatening atmosphere pulsing around her. He waved his hand to let her know that he understood. Oz walked into the room. Smiling at Tranquilla.

"Good morning." Break smirked, and quickly pulled Oz to the couch, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey Oz-kun, wanna do some shopping?" he whispered.

"Why should I do your dirty work?" Break's eye twitched.

"Keep it down you annoying brat."

"Oh Bre~ak." He froze. "Didn't I ask YOU to do that?"

"Uh…y-yes Milady, right away." Quilla laughed.

"Tranquilla, why don't you go with him?" She stopped, and nodded.

"Sure." As they walked, she felt waves of annoyance radiating from Break, so she figured, either he didn't like shopping, or he didn't like her.

"Why did you come, she wouldn't have made you." he questioned.

"Yeah, why?" Emily chimed in. She shrugged.

"To keep you company I suppose. If you want me to leave, I will, I can tell you're unhappy." His ruby eye widened for a moment, then he smiled.

"No, I'm glad you came, it's just, I don't know what Sharon was thinking. She wants to bring back your memories of your friend, but shopping isn't going to do the trick." She sped up a little, and walked backwards in front of him.

"Why does miss Sharon want to bring my memories back?"

"I guess it's more something I want."

"Why?"

"So many questions. It's just for research." Quilla nodded, feeling used, and walked normally next to him again. When they got back to the mansion, Sharon greeted them, and took the bags.

"Thanks for doing that you two." She went to close the door.

"Milady, what are you doing." Break, asked, grabbing it. She gave him an innocent look,

"I want dinner to be a surprise, is that a problem Xerk? You two can go have fun."

"But-"

"Go on." With that, she closed the door, leaving the two of them outside. Break sighed.

"Let's go."


	11. Lost and Found Ch4

Tranquilla looked around, absent mindedly taking in the scenery. "Is this all you wanted to do, see the gardens?" She nodded. "You really are a simple minded girl, aren't you?" Quill glared at Break.

"What was that?" A playful smile played on his lips, and his eye sparkled mischievously.

"I merely said you were simple minded. Unintelligence is nothing to be ashamed of." She just stopped.

"What the hell Break?" He laughed, and she chased after him.

"You know I was only kidding!" he called back. She sped up and tackled him.

"Like I care if you were kidding or not!"she snapped. Break squirmed around to face her. He had a small, contented smile on his face, his cheeks were flushed, his gray hair was a mess, and there was something about his eye that appeared odd to Tranquilla. It was brimming with an emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on. Suddenly a name came into her thoughts, making her give out a startled, involuntary gasp.

"What is it Quill?"

"K-Kevin…Regnard…I just remembered that name, that's my friend's name." Break's eye widened. "Do you know that name Break?" He nodded.

"I've…heard it." She scrutinized him for a moment.

"You know, you would look better without all of that hair in your face." she stated, her mind wandering from the topic of her friend. She went to move his hair, but he grabbed her hand.

"No, that's fine."

"Oh, come on." Quilla pulled her hand out of his grasp, and brushed his hair away. He had his eye closed. "Aw, come on, stop goofing around."

"No, Quill-" She gently opened his eyelid, and gasped. Where a second red eye should have been, there was a gaping hole.

"Break, why didn't you tell me?' He shrugged.

"I didn't think it was all that important." She stared at him incredulously.

"You're missing an eye!" He just sat up, while she remained on his lap.

"Anyways, what did any of that have to do with Kevin Regnard?"

"Well, I just remembered always fussing at him to fix his hair." He smiled.

"We should go back so lady Sharon doesn't get upset." she nodded.

"Alright."

Break's POV

The moment Sharon had seen them, she went all out, hitting Break with her paper fan.

"What did you DO?"

"Nothing!" he said, holding his hands up to protect his head. It was then that he realized what she was hitting him for. Both he, and Quilla had flushed cheeks, and messy hair from running, and dirty, unkempt cloths from falling to the ground. It occurred to Break what their appearances made Sharon assume.

"Well you told us to have fun…" he teased, earning himself another sharp smack to the face.

"Nothing happened." Tranquilla quickly assured her.

"Though she did remember something." Break added. Sharon smiled.

"Just as I was hoping. Tranquilla, come sit with me!" Break watched as Sharon dragged her off to a spot between her and Alice. He sat next to Gil.

"Hey Break." He glanced at Gilbert.

"Hmm?"

"What is she to you?" Break put on a smile, pretending to be clueless.

"Why would you ask that, you know we just met her yesterday." Gil scowled.

"Don't lie to me Break, you knew her before yesterday." He shrugged, and instead of eating the unappealing dinner in front of him, Break popped a piece of candy into his mouth.

"If you choose not to believe me, that's not my problem." Gil grunted. "No need to be upset Gilbert." He glared, and Break laughed, taking the chance to glance at his beloved, long lost friend.


	12. Lost and Found Ch5

The next few days passed, everyday Sharon had Quilla going somewhere with Break, so needless to say, their friendship grew, despite his constant, relentless, teasing. Little by little, pieces of her memory were returning to her. It was mostly things about the Abyss, or her chain, but some of them were of her friend Kevin.

The two of them walked back from town, after finding meat for Alice, and red wine for everybody else.

"Hey Break?" He stopped licking his lollipop to look at her.

"Yes?"

"You never told me how you lost your eye."

"I didn't know you wanted to know." She rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do."

"Curiosity killed the cat you know, now only if it had been that mangy Cheshire, we'd be all set." He muttered the last part coldly, but Quilla ignored it.

"Come on, tell me." He sighed, and surrendered.

"Well, I lost it when-" He stopped.

"What?" He suddenly dropped the bags, grabbed Quilla's wrist, pulled her to him, and wrapped his arms around her protectively, just as a horse drawn carriage thundered past them.

"Are you all right Quil?" he asked, his eye filled with concern.

"I'm fine," she said, he cheeks starting to feel warm. He held her for a moment longer, then smiled.

"That's good." He let go of her. "I'll finish telling you later, you obviously can't handle two things at once," he stated matter of factly.

"Oh, shut up Break." He snickered a little.

"Okay, okay, let's go."

Later that night, Tranquilla found herself trapped in a hug by Sharon.

"Don't worry Tranquilla, I'll protect you from those lowly pigs, they are the only ones who need to fear me!"

"Um…Miss Sharon. Could you let go of me?" She shook her head. Quilla glanced at Break, who just laughed.

"Thash ridiculous!" Gill Yelled. "Oz ish my master, stupid rabbit!"

"Who are ya callin' stupid, huh sheaweed head?" Alice yelled back, he drunken words just as slurred as Gil's. Quilla and Break watched as poor Oz tried to separate them, but it was obvious that it would be impossible, thanks to their many drinks.

"Milady." Break sat beside Sharon. Sharon scowled, grabbed a pillow, and swung at his head. He ducked, and stood back up, motioning for Quilla to move. She quickly got up, and headed out to the balcony. Break followed, narrowly escaping another vicious swing of the pillow, and sat on the railing.

"Thanks." He just took a sip of wine through his straw. "How have you stayed so sober?' He gave a small shrug.

"I can't get drunk, no matter how much I want to, believe me, I've tried."

"Oh." He patted the railing next to him, so she sat there.

"I lost my eye in the Abyss," he began, taking on a serious tone. "To make a long story short, I found myself dropped to the deepest part of the Abyss, thanks to my first chain, Albus." The name sounded familiar to her, but Quilla didn't interrupt. "There, my friend and I met the Will of Abyss, who was nothing more than a young girl. She decided that my eyes would look lovely on her blinded cat, Cheshire. She only got a chance to take one of them before the room collapsed." Tranquilla sat there for a moment.

"That's-" An image flashed through her mind of Kevin's eye being torn out by a white-haired girl that resembled Alice, only, it was Break, not Kevin. He had longer hair, but she could tell it was Break. The floor began to crumble, and one of the pieces below his feet gave out, and she reached for his hand, but she lost her grip and he was gone. She was finally able to put a face to a name. She hopped off of the railing, standing in front of Break. "K-Kevin?" He nodded, giving her a small smile. She felt her chest tighten , as tear welled up in the corners of her eyes. He hopped off of the railing, and Quilla threw her arms around him.

"Honestly Quil, how slow could you be?" he teased lightly.

"Shut up," she said through her tears. He chuckled.

"I've missed you. And, there is one thing I always regretted not telling you."

"What?"

"Quil, I love you." Quilla laughed a little, figuring he was joking.

"I thought those kinds of relationships annoyed you?" He surprised her by leaning in so close that their lips were almost touching.

"This is different." With that, he closed the space between them. Quil wrapped her arms around his neck, while Break's arms wound around her waits, puling her even closer than she already was. She could taste sweet sugar on his lips. Gradually, the kiss grew more and more passionate , until they finally pulled away.

"So, who do I say I love you to? Kevin, or Break?" she asked.

"Your choice" She thought for a moment.

"Kevin will always be my best friend, but I fell in love with Break," she stated decisively. He pulled a lollipop out of his pocket.

"That works." A sudden wave of exhaustion hit Quilla, and she yawned. Break took advantage of that, and shoved the lollipop in her mouth. "You should get some rest." She hugged him, and shook her head.

"I don' wanna," she said, mumbling around the candy in her mouth.

"Too bad." With that, he lifted her up, and carried her to her room.


	13. Lost and Found Ch6

Quilla woke up to find that Break had fallen asleep next to her, one arm around her, the other under your head. The locks of gray hair, which he usually used diligently to cover the left side of his face, were now hanging away from his eye. Without thinking, she reached out, and gently brushed his eyelid with her thumb. His other, still functioning, eye snapped open. Quilla smiled.

"Good morning." He blinked a couple of times.

"What are you doing?" She quickly pulled her hand away from his eye.

"Oh, nothing…" He grabbed her hand, and held it against his eye again.

"It doesn't hurt you now. It's just as it appears, empty. No pain, no discomfort, just empty nothingness. Now, lets go see if the others made it through the night." He said the last part with a chuckle. They got up, and walked to the drawing room.

Both of them started laughing at the sight of everybody passed out on the floor, or the couch. Quilla shook Alice and Gil awake, while Break woke Oz. When they got to Sharon, they both looked at each other.

"You've known her longer than I have, I'm sure you can handle waking her up."

"Yes, but she's more gentle towards you. I am her servant after all, and as you've seen, she has nothing against hitting me," he countered. In the end, they asked poor Gil, who was still half asleep, to do it. He looked at them drowsily.

"Sure, whatever." They didn't stay to see the outcome, mostly because they were afraid he would tell her that the two of them told him to. Instead, you ran out to the garden to enjoy the day.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Break glanced at Quilla.

"What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were Kevin?" He shrugged.

"I didn't find it necessary." She found his hand under his oversized sleeve, and slid her fingers between his, curling them around his hand.

"Well I think it was necessary." He laughed.

"Of course, I forgot, you're rather slow, aren't you?" She scowled.

"Break you jerk!" She brought her hand up to hit him. "Stop making cracks at-" In one quick, fluid motion, without letting go of the hand he already held, he caught the hand that was about to hit him, and silenced her with a kiss. He pulled away, smirking, but didn't let go of your hands.

"Was that close enough to an apology for you?" She nodded, still slightly overwhelmed by pleasure and surprise.

"How romantic." Break's grip tightened as he looked past Quilla, his mood darkening. He pulled her a little closer, and his eye became cold as he glared at whoever had spoken. "May I ask you this young girl is, a new mistress perhaps? Have you gotten tired of lady Shelly Rainsworth, and that adorable daughter of hers?" The voice was cold and mocking. Quilla turned to see a man with long blonde hair, and startling eyes. One was a deep wine red, while the other was a bright golden yellow.

"Why are you here Vincent?" Break growled.

"Have you forgotten your manors Xerxes? I believe I asked you a question first." Break's eye narrowed. He let go of one of her hands, moving his hand to her shoulder, and keeping his fingers tightly laced with her other hand.

"If you must know, this is Tranquilla, not a new mistress of mine. You know very well that my loyalty as a servant lies with Shelly." Vincent gave a twisted smile that made Quilla shiver involuntarily.

"I see. Well, I'm simply here to pay a visit to my brother. Good day Mister Hatter, and it was a pleasure to meet you Tranquilla." As he walked by them, Break's grip on her shoulder tightened painfully as he followed the blonde with a dangerous glare.

"Break, you're hurting me." He loosened his grip, and muttered a quick apology. Quilla knew he was flustered by the arrival of Vincent, even she had been a little unnerved by meeting him, however, she didn't know why.


	14. Lost and Found Ch7

_Break sat next to Tranquilla, shoveling sugar cubes into his tea. _

"_So this Vincent Nightray guy is Gil's brother?" He nodded, stirring his tea vigorously, then adding more sugar. Quilla grabbed his hand to stop him. "Would you calm down and talk to me?" she snapped, frustrated. He had been like that since they got in from the garden. He just looked at her. "Now that I have your attention, will you explain to me why you hate him so much?" He sighed, and she let go of his hand, confident that he was relaxed. _

"_We've explained the tragedy of Sabarie to you, correct?" She nodded. "I just know he was connected to it somehow, but I just can't prove it. Every bit of evidence I find, he finds a way to eliminate it. He's a slimy, good for nothing sewer rat!" As he spoke he grabbed the tin of sugar cubes, and wolfed them down, handfuls at a time. Quilla realized that she probably shouldn't have asked him that. "Damn weasel…when I get my hands on him…I'll kill him!" he said between mouthfuls of sugar. Quilla rolled her eyes, and snatched the tin away from him. "Quilll…" he whined._

"_Not until I'm done talking with you," she stated, feeling like she was scolding a child. " If you're so convinced that he had something to do with it, why don't you tell somebody?" He clenched his fists._

"_Don't you think I've tried? Every time I request am audience with Rufus, he turns my request down, saying the only ones involved were the Baskervilles."_

"_Rufus?" _

"_Rufus Barma, the oldest of the four main dukes." Satisfied, she slid the tin of sugar cubes back to him. He licked his lips, and plunged his hand into the tin. _

_Break's POV _

_Break sat on the foot of the bed, relaxed for the most part, but anxious to be having Vincent stay the night. He felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind, as Quilla pressed her cheek to his, her chin resting on his shoulder. _

"_You're still too tense, it's not like you at all. Why don't we go out on the balcony and get some fresh air?" He gave her a small smile. _

"_Alright." They got outside, and saw the full moon at it's highest point. "Why did you want to come out here?" She shrugged. _

"_To help you relax. Honestly, Vincent hasn't done anything but cling to Gil all day."_

"_I suppose…" he admitted with a shrug. "But that doesn't mean we can tru-" She shoved a piece of candy, from the bowl on the small outdoor table, into his mouth._

"_Relax." He smiled_

"_You are such a child, no sense of urgency or danger whatsoever" he teased, pushing the candy to the side of his mouth, against his cheek. _

"_Shut up Break!" He chuckled, however, he just couldn't shake the awful sinking feeling that had formed in the pit of his stomach the moment Vincent had arrived._

_Tranquilla's POV_

_Quilla sighed. Break was sitting on the foot of the bed, calmer than before, but she could still feel the anxiety rolling off of him in waves. She sat behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and resting her chin on his shoulder, pressing her cheek against his. _

"_You're still too tense, it's not like you at all. Why don't we go out on the balcony and get some fresh air?" She received a small smile from him. _

"_Alright." They went out to the balcony, and saw that the moon was particularly bright. "Why did you want to come out here?" She shrugged. _

"_To help you relax. Honestly, Vincent hasn't done anything but cling to Gil all day."_

"_I suppose…but that doesn't mean we can tru-" She picked piece of candy from the bowl on the small chocolate table, and shoved it into his mouth. _

"_Relax," she said in a demanding tone. Break grinned._

"_You are such a child, no sense of urgency or danger whatsoever." She crossed her arms indignantly._

" _Shut up Break!" He covered his mouth, sniggering. She rolled her eyes. "I don't think I'm the childish one."_

"_Oh really?" He looked at her, still smiling. The light from the moon turned his, usually gray, hair silver. "Do you remember how we became friends?" he questioned after a moment of silence._

"_Not really…" she said, feeling a little guilty. _

"_The Sinclairs, the family I served, were hosting a party, that you, my dear, showed up to uninvited. I followed you to tell you to leave, but when I caught you, I just couldn't." _

"_Why?" He chuckled._

"_First of all, you were too stubborn, and refused to leave. You said you just wanted to see what such a carefree life was like. You just seemed so innocent when you said that, I just couldn't bring myself to force you out. When I said you could stay, you begged me to dance with you, because nobody else would. Truthfully, I don't know what possessed me to do it, but…' He seized her hand, and put one arm around her waist. "But despite the fact that I'm a horrible dancer, I've been looking forward to dancing with you again." She smiled, placing her free hand on his shoulder._

"_But there's no music." _

"_Oh please, I dance to my own tune," he said, joking about his own brazen lack of normalcy. They just rocked back and forth for a little while, because neither of them were exactly skillful when it came to dancing. Quilla rested her head against him, the hypnotic rocking soothing her. He rested his chin on the top of her head, and when he did, she noticed something behind him that made her stop. _

"_What, tired already, you can't be that out of shape." For once, Break's irritating comment didn't get to her, as she stared, wide eyed, at the room a couple of doors down from theirs. He turned to see what she was looking at, and the color immediately drained from his already pale face, making him look ghostly as his eye widened. Sharon's room had bright orange flames licking at the door to the balcony, while heavy black smoke seeped through the cracks._

"_Oujou…sama." Break said in a near whisper. Suddenly, he tore away from Quilla, and ran to the edge of the balcony. He gripped the railing, white knuckled, as he scanned the ground below, a murderous look flaring in his ruby eye. Sharon ran into the room, and onto the balcony. _

"_We have to get out of here, now!" she ordered. Tranquilla nodded. _

"_Break, lets go!" He hesitated for a moment, then tore his gaze from the ground to follow her. _


	15. Lost and Found Ch8

The fire had spread, destroying several rooms in its wake, but everybody managed to put it out before it caused any irreparable damage.

"That damn sewer rat!" Break snarled, slamming the side of his fist against a tree.

"How do you know it was him?" He whipped around, frightening Quilla a little bit.

"Can you tell me where he is?" She shook her head.

"Well…no…"

"I'm a hopeless fool…" he stated, sitting in the grass, and burying his head in his hands.

"Break…"

"What if something had happened to Lady Sharon, or…or you?" he said quietly. "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had let it happen again." She knew he was referring to the deaths of the Sinclair family.

"We're both fine. I'm right here, and Sharon is over there speaking with Oz, Gil and Alice." She kneeled in front of him. "We're fine." she repeated. He looked at her, eye glazed over. As if he wasn't actually seeing her. He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, almost like he was making sure she was really there, and safe. Suddenly Break flashed a small, almost relieved smile, and hugged her to him.

"I guess you're right." Quilla found it hard to believe that just a moment earlier, he had been having a breakdown.

"How perfectly odd! Mister Hatter, you're showing some genuine compassion." They saw Vincent looming over them. "Why are you all outside at this hour?" Break scowled.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I had some errands to run in town," he said, turning to leave, then he saw the damage, an almost disappointed look taking over his features. "Oh my, what happened?" Vincent questioned innocently. Break gritted his teeth, and stood, keeping you pressed tightly against him.

"Why do you ask? Are you wanting to know what happened to make your plan go wrong? Are you wanting to know why we're still alive?" he snapped.

"I think you must be mistaken Hatter, because I have no idea what you're talking about, silly." Break went to unsheathe his sword, which he usually kept disguised as a cane, but you grabbed his hand.

"No." He glanced at you, slightly surprised.

"See, Tranquilla has some sense about her."

"No, I just don't want any violence," she answered coolly. Vincent shrugged, and walked away. Moments later, Sharon ran up.

"Is Vincent leaving?" she asked, panicked. Quilla shrugged.

"He'd better be, because if I get my hands on him…"

"We can't let him get away! Break, you have to go get him!" Break's eye narrowed, as a wicked, malicious grin appeared on his face, scaring Quilla a bit.

"Break?"

"I'll be back." He ran off, and she chased after him.

"Tranquilla!" She ignored Sharon, and continued running. Determine, she picked up her speed.

"Break wait!" He ignored her, so she tackled him. She heard the breath leave his lungs as he landed hard on the ground. She knew for a fact that he was stronger than her, so she didn't give him a chance to recover. "Listen Break, if you kill Vincent, you're going to regret it." He struggled a little, but she kept him pinned.

"Tranquilla, what are you doing?"

"Do you remember all of those people you killed? One hundred sixteen was it?" He stopped squirming. Quilla had his attention, and if the subject hadn't been so grim, she would be smirking triumphantly. "I remember the days that would pass after you murdered someone. You would lock yourself in your room, or just breakdown. I remember how worried I was that some day, you would just snap. Now, I understand that Vincent isn't innocent like those people were, but it was always hard to see you kill, and it will just bring back bad memories for the both of us." He clenched his fists, then relaxed.

"Fine." She let him get up slowly, making sure he wouldn't try to run off. He put a hand on her head. "You certainly have a knack for taking me down. Don't look so frightened."

"I didn't realize I did."

"Your eyes are as big as saucers," he teased half-heartedly. "No lets go." They got back to Sharon, and she looked upset.

"Where is he?" Break bowed.

"My apologies Oujou-sama, I lost sight of him," he stated, casting a quick glance, filled with longing and hatred, behind him.


	16. Lost and Found Ch9

The next few days were tense, and Quilla realized that it was her fault. Break tried to convince her that he wasn't angry with her, but she could sense his frustration. She sat next to him on the couch. He pulled his lollipop out of his mouth, and offered it to her. She shook her head.

"Cheer up, cheer up!" Emily exclaimed

"Now Emily, if she just wants to be a wallflower that dampens the atmosphere, let her. She just won't come with us tonight." She glanced at him.

"Where?"

"Ah, I got your attention. One of the dukes is holding a ball tonight, and unless he wants to appear suspicious, Vincent will be there, giving us the perfect opportunity to apprehend the sewer rat. Not to mention, we can participate in some of the festivities," he finished in a sing-song voice. Quilla smiled.

"No wonder you've been in such a cheerful mood today." He just grinned. "But wait a minute, I don't have a dress."

"Lady Sharon has already taken care of that." He pulled her to him, and kissed the top of her head. "She said something about wanting the evening to be romantic, which isn't exactly what I'm into, but…lets just say that she's highly persuasive." He rubbed his head, which Quilla assumed was sore.

"Well, when do we have to leave?"

"In a couple of hours. The ride there takes a little while."

"Alright then, I suppose I should go get ready." When she got to her new room, since the first one was being repaired, she saw a dress sitting on the bed. It was beautiful, deep midnight blue, with intricate black lacing at the wrists and the bottom of the dress. She had been given black fingerless gloves, a black choker with blue roses on the side, and a few blue hair clips. She took about an hour to fix her ,usually straight raven black hair, into soft curls that were pulled back, leaving only a couple to frame her face. Moments after she put on the black boots she had been given, the door swung open.

"There you are, come on, we're gong to be late!" She found herself essentially being kidnapped by an overly eager Sharon. As the carriage set off, she was very confused.

"Where's Break, and Gil, and Oz?" Alice shrugged.

"She insisted on having us ride in a separate carriage from the boys." Alice explained.

"Of course I did Alice. It may not seem so, but these short-term separations are absolutely vital in a romance!" Alice snorted.

"What romance?"

"Why, you and Oz of course! And then there's Quilla and Break! Don't you see? Now dancing with them will be even better, and…" As Sharon rambled on about romance, Quilla looked out the window, tuning her out. It was raining, so she was glad she wasn't outside. When they finally got there, they were helped out by the servants of the mansion. Quilla and Alice were then dragged in by Sharon.

"Now, Alice, go find Oz, and Quilla, you go find Break," she ordered. Quilla didn't have to be told twice. She worked her way through the crowd until she spotted him. She stared in awe. Usually, she found him attractive, with a humorous air about him, but now, he was presenting himself with the utmost elegance, and girls, who usually kept their distance, were crowding around him, though he didn't seem very comfortable with all of the attention. He was wearing a black outfit, with a deep violet cravat. The coat he wore had two long coat tails that went a little past his knees. She could actually see his gloved hands because, unlike his usual get up where the sleeves were way too long, the sleeves fanned out slightly past the wrists, but didn't go past them. He had somehow managed to clip his hair back, except for his bangs, which still hung in his face. He saw you, and waved excitedly, running over to you.

"Glad you finally made it. I was worried you wouldn't show up, and I'd be stuck with them all night, which would ruin everything." He motioned back at the girls he had just been surrounded by.

"I'm sure you would have found a way to scare them off." He laughed a little.

"Well, if you don't mind, before we dance, I'm just gonna get some cake." She rolled her eyes with a smile. Despite his elegant appearance, he still had a fool's demeanor. He locked arms with Quilla, and pulled her over to the table of food.


	17. Lost and Found Ch10

Quilla leaned against the table, a plate of cake in her hand.

"How unladylike," Break teased, though she knew he didn't care how ladylike she really was.

"You aren't exactly a perfect gentleman yourself," she retorted. He chuckled a little, licking his fork. Quilla went to take a bite of her cake, only to find it missing. She looked at Break accusingly. "You thieving, big-mouthed glutton!" He laughed for a moment, but stopped as something caught his eye. She followed his gaze, to see the wicked blonde, Vincent. Break turned to her, bowing slightly, and holding a hand out.

"May I have this dance?" She took his hand.

"Of course." They both danced to the best of their abilities, inching closer to Vincent. When they were close enough to keep an eye on him, Break started a casual conversation.

"Lady Sharon certainly has good taste, your dress matches your eyes beautifully."

"Thank you," Quilla said, as they both spun , putting Vincent in Quilla's line of sight instead of Break's. Break threw a quick glance back at him, then leaned closer to Quilla.

"Keep an eye on him until we switch positions again. Let me know if he leaves," he whispered. She nodded obediently, smiling. He gave her one of his rare soft and sweet smiles, and pecked her on the lips, before returning his focus to the dance. They got through two songs before Vincent left.

"Lets go." He dragged Quilla off. Vincent must have noticed them following him, because he sped up. Break huffed impatiently, and sped up as well. When Vincent finally broke into a run, they followed suit. She and Break had a difficult time trying to run through the mass of people, and trying to keep sight of Vincent, until he turned down a hallway, freeing them from the crowd. Vincent was fast, but Break was faster, and caught him.

"Vincent Nightray, I have orders from Pandora to take you into custody," he said, pulling out his Pandora seal. Vincent smirked.

"Oh my, it looks like you've caught me, however Mister Hatter, I'm not the only one who's been caught." Quilla gasped and whimpered, as a cold blade was suddenly pressed to her neck, a strong arm holding her still. Break turned, what almost sounded like a growl rising in his throat.

"Tranquilla!" At least twenty others came from doors on either side of the corridor, all of them with their faces hidden by heavy red hoods.

"The moment I'm free, she'll be free."

"Break, ignore him!" Quilla pleaded.

"Quil, these are the Baskervilles,, leaving you with them is something I just can't do." He cautiously let go of Vincent's arm.

"You've always been wonderfully compliant Xerxes. Do with them what you will," Vincent said, leaving. Break watched him for a moment, then turned to the Baskervilles.

"Let her go," he demanded. A girl's cold, shrill laugh resounded through the hall.

"Make us!"

"You guys have always been rather irksome." He drew his sword, dodged most of them, knocked the rest out of the way, then swung the sword upwards. Quilla yelped, and closed her eyes, When she opened them, she saw that he had narrowly missed her head, and instead, hit the head of the one restraining her with the hilt of his sword. The man collapsed, and she hugged Break.

"Now isn't the time to be celebrating, none of them are going to give up that easily." He was right. They had surrounded them like a pack of wolves, but they weren't alone. They each had a chain beside them. Break frowned, looking slightly distraught. "Stay back." He charged at one of them, a large snake, , but it moved out of his way, hitting him in the back with it's tail. That threw him off balance, giving another chain, one that resembled a vine of poison ivy, a chance to slam him against the wall.

"Break, watch out!" she warned, but it was too late, She watched helplessly, as a third chain, a lion, hit him, sending him sliding back across the floor. "Break!" She was about to run over, but he stopped her.

"Stay where you are!" he ordered. He stood slowly,. "I guess I have no other choice." He closed his eye, and a dark, writhing shadow formed behind him. It took the shape of a large. Flowing cloak, underneath a top hat that was adorned with lifeless gray flowers, and a playing card that read 'Love and Peace'. From within the darkness of the cloak, Quilla saw a small, red slit form, then snap open, looking almost like a huge crimson eye. All at once, the enemy chains began to disintegrate, until they were completely gone. The Baskervilles looked at each other and ran off.

"Break, you-" As she ran up to him, Quilla saw him cover his mouth, and double over in a coughing fit. She noticed dark, red blood dripping from between his fingers, as he continued to cough violently. "Break!" She grabbed his shoulders. "Break, please hang on, you're going to be alright. He looked at her, a thin line of blood dripping down his cheek from the corner of his mouth, and a small, yet triumphant smile on his lips. Suddenly, his eye rolled back, and he fell forward onto you. "Break!"


	18. Lost and Found Ch11

For three days, the only words Quilla spoke was a strangled description of what had happened, said through traumatized tears. After that, she just sat in her room, next to the bed, where Break laid, unconscious. On the fourth day, Sharon came in, and she finally spoke.

"What exactly happened to him?"

"Well, from what you described a few days ago, he must have used his chain, Mad Hatter. It negates any and all power coming from the Abyss," Sharon explained. Quilla looked at her, confused.

"Doesn't having a chain make him and illegal contractor?" Sharon shook her head.

"Not necessarily. Break and I became contractors through a legal method devised by Pandora."

"Well, if it was his chain, why did it hurt him?" Sharon sighed.

"Being a legal contractor can extend one's life, but doesn't make it eternal. In Break's case, he's so old, his body is just having an increasingly difficult time handling the power of his chain." It dawned on Quilla that Break was at least one hundred twenty years old, and she wasn't much younger. She watched his chest rise and fall, happy to see that his breathing was steadier than before. "He'll be fine, he's too stubborn to die so easily." Sharon assured her. Oz and Alice ran into the room, followed by Gil.

"Is the clown up yet?" Alice asked bluntly, but not without the slightest amount of concern. Quilla shook her head.

"Aw, come on Quil, cheer up, we all know he'll be fine. Besides, it's been nice and peaceful the past couple of days without the oddball around," Oz teased good-naturedly. Quilla couldn't help but smile.

Break's POV

Break opened his eye slowly, confused for a moment, then it all came back to him. The room was dark, but he could seethe fuzzy outline of someone next to hm. He blinked a couple of times to clear up his vision, but things were still blurry. He held his hand in front of his face, but it wasn't quite his hand. In fact, it was almost empty darkness, with a black shadow in the indistinct shape of his hand. He dropped his hand, and stared sightlessly up at the ceiling.

"Break, you're up!" He turned his head in the direction of Quilla's voice. He smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I am. How long have I been out?"

"Four days." He sat up, clenching his throbbing head. "Careful," Quilla warned, and took the opportunity to throw her arms around him. "I'm glad you're alright, I was so worried!" He hugged her back.

"Sorry for scaring you, but I had no other options, unless you wanted both of us to end up dead." He could feel her shake her head.

"Just don't do that again." He smiled, but couldn't hold on to it. He just didn't know how to tell her that he was blind.

Tranquilla's POV 

Quilla had refused to let Break out of bed until she knew he was one hundred percent better, so when he wanted cake, she had to bring him some.

"Really Quil, I would have been fine getting up." She ignored him, and held a fork out to him. He didn't take it, instead, he slid his finger back and forth across the edge of the plate.

"Don't you want a fork?" He glanced at her.

"Uh…no thanks."

"Okay…" she said, a little confused. The back of his hand brushed a piece of cake, and he picked it up and ate it. He licked his fingers.

"Is everything alright, you seem awfully quiet," he said. Quilla shrugged.

"I'm fine, I just feel…so useless."

"Why is that love?" She sighed, not in the mood to talk about.

"If I hadn't been there, you would have caught Vincent, and…and you wouldn't have gotten hurt for my sake." He chuckled.

"Alright, lets get a few things straight. You are not useless first of all, Vincent is just a clever bastard. Secondly, and I know it may sound selfish, but I didn't fight for you." Quilla was taken aback by his comment, wondering what the point of risking his life was if that was the case. "Please understand, I love you very much, but I'm a man who lives for himself. I can't stand when people use the excuse 'I did it all for someone else,' I find it irresponsible and cowardly. I fought because if something had happened to you, I would have suffered, not because you would have been hurt if I hadn't, though, I guess I still m suffering…" She waited for elaborate, and when he didn't, she just leaned against him, letting his words soak in.


	19. Lost and Found Ch12

Quilla made Break stay in bed for two days, and even after that, despite his complaining, she didn't let him do all that much. It was a nice day, so they sat outside on the balcony with Oz. As usual, there was an assortment of sweets on the small table, and, as he had for the past few days, Break passed up a fork in favor of his hands.

"Quil, I'm thirsty."

"Then go get some tea," she stated.

"But I'm not allowed to exert myself," he mocked. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll get it. Oz, do you want any?"

"No thanks." She got up, and went in.

Break's POV 

The moment he had heard Tranquilla leave, Break turned his head in the direction that he could hear Oz shuffling.

"Go on, ask."

"What's wrong with you? You've been really clumsy, seeing as you've already broken two tea sets, and you've just been acting…stranger than usual. I mean, you haven't used a fork in several days!" Break sighed.

"You're a pretty perceptive brat, aren't you? Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. I'll tell you, but you have to keep quiet." There was silence, so Break assumed that Oz had nodded. "I lost my sight when I used Mad Hatter. I've been using my hands to eat because I can get a better idea of where things are, and as for the tea sets, well, I overestimated myself." Break heard Oz get up, and walk towards him.

"You really can't see?" he asked, and Break felt a little bit of air as Oz waved his hand in front of his face. Break nodded.

"You can't tell anybody."

"I won't." Break heard Quilla's light footsteps. There was a clink as she set the teacup down on the table.

"Thank you love."

"You're welcome. Hey Oz, are you alright? You seem troubled." Break held his breath for a moment.

"I'm fine, just tired." Break let out a relieved sigh. He couldn't let her find out, because he didn't know how to handle the tears that were sure to follow.

Tranquilla's POV

When she had gone back out to the balcony, Oz's sullen expression had concerned Quilla, but she got over it. A few quiet days passed by, and before long, Break became restless.

"Where are you going?" she demanded when she caught him crawling into and empty cupboard.

"Out. You've kept me in here now for more than a week, so I'm fine. Now, I'm going." Quilla sighed, laughing a little.

"Fine, but why don't you use the door?" she asked, still amazed by some of the places he appeared and disappeared from. He shrugged.

"This way is more fun," he said with a grin.

"Well, why don't you go out the door, and I can go with you. Sharon asked me to do some shopping anyway." He bit his bottom lip.

"Oh…alright."

"If you don't want me to go, fine." He shook his head.

"No, I'd like you to come with me." When they left, using the door, Break had his sword off of his hip, using it as a cane.

"What, afraid we'll see Vincent?"

"No, I just…yeah…" Though she had just been teasing, his answer sounded troubled. As they walked through the town, Quilla noticed a strange girl watching them, so she stopped. "Quil, is everything alright?" The girl started to approach them.

"Break, do you know her?"

"Who?"

"That girl coming towards us." She didn't know why, but Break craned his neck.

"Could you maybe describe her?"

"Short, white hair, pale purple eyes, and a short blue dress with long sleeves." He smiled.

"That would be Echo-chan." Then he frowned. "What could she be doing here?" She reached them, her face expressionless. "Hello Echo." She nodded in greeting.

"Vincent-sama sent me here to inform you that Xerxes and Tranquilla are invited to his home for a formal negotiation in one weeks time." Break's expression was grim.

"Thank you Echo." She bowed, and ran off. "Quil, we have to get back now. We have to inform Lady Sharon, and make preparations for next week." His voice was filled with urgency and determination. "I can't lose him again, Vincent will be arrested."


	20. Lost and Found Ch13

Quilla collapsed in the grass, panting heavily.

"You're really out of practice, aren't you?" Break asked, sheathing his sword.

"I haven't fought with a sword for one hundred years, what do you expect.? Besides, I wasn't that bad, I only kept missing you by a hair." He sat next to her.

"That's true, but you need to get back into it quickly if you're going to defend yourself. In a few days." She nodded. In a few days time, they would be at Vincent's home, and by then, Quilla had to be ready to fight, just in case.

"Her Quil, Break! Elliot and Leo are here!"

"Don't use my name so casually you brat!" Oz ran over to them, laughing, followed by two people who seemed a little older than him. One of them had sandy brown hair, and icy blue eyes. He was glaring at Oz, so she assumed he was Elliot, based on what she had been told about the boys. The other boy, Leo she assumed, was a bit smaller, and had long thick, black hair, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of large glasses.

"Guys, this is Tranquilla, and Quil, this is Elliot Nightray, and Leo, his best friend and servant." Quilla smiled.

"Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all ours," Leo replied politely. Quilla noticed Break scowling.

"Hey, why are you so grumpy all of a sudden?" He waited until Elliot and Leo walked off, talking with Oz, to explain.

"I know we agreed to ask them to help, but I still don't know if we can trust them," he said quietly.

"Why?"

"Think about it, Elliot is Vincent's adopted brother." She shrugged.

"So, Gil is Vincent's actual brother, you can't tell me that you don't trust him, can you?" He nodded.

"You're right." He stood up, and stumbled a little.

"Are you alright, you've been really uncoordinated lately…" He smiled.

"Of course I'm alright. Now, why don't we go have some tea and discuss the plans."

"Sounds good, I'm worn out." They went in, and everybody gathered on the main balcony above the entrance.

"So, the only ones who can get in initially, are Break and Quil," Sharon began, after taking a sip of her tea.

"Which means we hide somewhere until we're needed, if we're needed at all," Gil stated.

"That's stupid, why don't we just go in and get him?" Alice asked.

"Gilbert has a point, the Baskervilles could be there. If we rush in right away, they could take us by surprise, but if we wait, we'll be the ones with the element of surprise," Elliot explained. Oz and Leo nodded in agreement.

"So Quilla and I will just have to be patient for a little while once we're in." Quilla nodded.

"Right, and if we need you guys, I'll get you," she stated. Everybody agreed on the plans, and went off to do their own thing, but Break stayed behind. "Alright, what's wrong?"

"You do realize how dangerous this could be, don't you?" She nodded.

"Of course I do."

"I don't know if you should go. You know how to use a sword skillfully, but you're very rusty. I'm just not sure you can polish up as much as you need to in three days." Quilla just looked at him defiantly. He looked back at her, but his gaze seemed to extend past her.

"You aren't going alone, not after what happened at the ball."

"I won't be completely alone." Quilla sighed, and got up to stand behind him. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

"You need to lighten up with things like this. If I didn't think I could handle myself, I wouldn't go." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going and there's nothing you can do about it." He stood, and she let go of him. He flicked her gently on the forehead.

"You are so stubborn." She grinned.

"I appreciate the compliment!" Quilla spent the next two days sparring with Break. He didn't go easy on her, so by the time the sun went down on the second day, she was exhausted. He sighed.

"You really aren't ready…"

"I don't care!" she snapped. He sheathed his sword, and wrapped an arm around he shoulders, pushing her towards the mansion. She stopped. "If you don't think I'm ready, then I should keep going!" He kept his arm around her shoulders, and stooped down to hit the back of her knees, so she would fall into his arms.

"No, because you need some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day for all of us."

Break's POV 

Break rested in bed, waiting until he heard Quilla's breathing slow into a soft, relaxed rhythm. When he thought she was asleep, he slowly got up, and felt around for his shirt and jacket, and slipped them on. He knew nobody would approve of him acting on his own, but he felt that he had to. He risked taking Elliot's horse, one who knew it's way to Vincent's home without guidance, despite not being able to see to steer. When he got to the Nightray mansion, and walked through the unlocked door, he immediately had a gun pressed to his head.

"I figured you'd come alone Hatter." Break quickly drew his sword, but ended up slashing the open air.

"Even if I fail to catch you Vincent, the others are coming tomorrow."

"Not that you want that, otherwise, you wouldn't be here, would you?" Break whipped around, but failed to hit anything. He stood there and listened for any footsteps, or breathing, but heard nothing. Among the silence, there was suddenly a whisper behind him.

"You can't hit what you can't see…" Break took a sharp whack to the back of the head, fell forward, and lost consciousness. "Sweet dreams Hatter…"


	21. Lost and Found Ch14

When she had woken up, Quilla found out that Break was gone, so she was now running around the mansion in hopes of finding him.

"Break, where are you? Come on, this isn't funny!" Elliot came out of the guest room he had been staying in, glaring at you.

"What's with all of the shouting?"

"Break's missing!" she blurted. He didn't seem concerned.

"He probably went off on his own."

"But…he said he wouldn't." Elliot shrugged.

"Saying and doing are two different things." Quilla scowled.

"Then I'm going after him."

"Fine, but don't expect me to be there to help you," he stated, surprising her. She just nodded, and left. She took off on one of the horses, hoping Elliot was wrong. When she got there, the door was unlocked, so Quilla just walked in. To her surprise, she was greeted by Echo, who bowed.

"Vincent-sama has been expecting you, please follow me this way." Quilla followed her up a few flights of stairs to a dark room. Quilla walked in, and gasped. Break was chained by his wrists, which were bleeding. His head was down until she walked in, then he looked up.

"Break!" She took a few steps towards him.

"Quil, stop," he demanded. She did.

"My, she's as obedient as you are Xerxes." Vincent came from behind her, and walked towards Break. Vincent lifted Break's chin so he was looking right at Quilla.

"Let him go," she demanded. Vincent chuckled.

"Aren't you flattered Mister Hatter? She wants me to fee you. She must sound so brave to you, it's a shame you can't see the fear in her eyes." Break tore his head from Vincent's grip.

"Leave her alone Vincent." Quilla put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"No Break, I'll be fine." Vincent's hand moved to grab something, and you realized that it was a pair of scissors.

"I'd rather not fight you. If I killed you, it would be no fun. Xerxes wouldn't see it." She furrowed her brow.

"What are you talking about?" He laughed.

"My my, you haven't told her?" Vincent opened the scissors, and ran it along Break's cheek, a thin red line appearing on his face, and dripping down his cheek. Quilla gritted her teeth, took a step forward, and drew her sword.

"Stop it!" she snapped.

"Can you tell me which hand she just drew her sword with?" Break looked away, and mumbled something. "What was that?"

"I said I can't!" he snapped. Quilla was confused.

"What do you mean you can't see which hand my sword's in?" He sighed.

"When I used Mad Hatter, I…I lost my sight. I'm blind Quil…" She just stood there, stunned. Vincent cackled cruelly.

"The Hatter is as blind as a bat!" Outraged, she ran at Vincent with her sword, but he quickly drew his own, and blocked her.

"Tranquilla!" came a voice that was neither Break's nor Vincent's. She glanced over her shoulder to see a Baskerville with his sword raised. She closed her eyes, and tensed up, but she heard a metallic clang. She didn't look until she shoved Vincent back, but when she did, she grinned. Elliot was there, and had guarded her back.

"Elliot! I thought you weren't going to be helping me?" He cut his opponent down, and turned to her.

"Just focus on the fight, there are a lot more coming."

"What about the others?" There was a gunshot at the doorway, and another Baskerville fell dead, answering her question.

"Quil, Oz is going to free Break. While he's doing that, take care of Vincent, and we'll take care of the Baskervilles," Gil explained. She nodded, and turned to Vincent, who was just getting up. He swung at her, and she dodged, lunging back at him.

"Give up Vincent!" His eyes flashed with hatred.

"You turned Gilbert against me!" He swung again, and she moved.

"Quil!" She turned to see that Oz had gotten one of the chains undone. He tossed it to her, and she caught it. While he was off balance, she kicked Vincent to the ground, tied the chain around his wrists, and embedded her sword in the ground through a link. She waited to make sure it would hold, and when it did, she rushed to Break. Oz finished undoing the other chain, and Break collapsed. She caught him, wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders, and put her arm around him to give him support.

"Gil wants you two to get out of here, we'll take care of everything else," Oz stated. She nodded, and brought Break out of the room. As they walked down the hallway, she glanced at him, and he hung his head.

"So you…can't see a thing?" He nodded. "I guess that explains why you've been such a klutz," she said with a weak laugh. "Break, you could have told me. I don't care if you're blind, I'll always be by your side, and I'll always love you." He smiled a little. "That aside, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was hoping none of you would have to come today, but I guess that didn't work out, did it?" As they walked through the main hall, they had to watch out for Alice, who was wildly swinging a scythe in the form of a giant rabbit. They got outside, Quilla helped Break into the carriage that was waiting for them, and left.

In the end, the Baskervilles ran off with their tails between their legs, Vincent was taken off to Pandora for questioning and imprisonment, and Echo became Gil's loyal servant.


	22. Lost and Found Ch15

Several weeks passed peacefully. Everybody was now sitting in the garden, enjoying the beautiful day. Quilla was happily sitting next to Break, sucking on a butterscotch.

"Break," Sharon stated. He nodded, and grabbed her hand. He stood, pulling her up. He walked around behind her, and leaned in, his lips by her ear.

"I've been saving this for you since before we got dragged into the Abyss," he said quietly. With that, he clasped a silver necklace with a sapphire pendant around her neck. "I want to be with you now and forever." She stood there stunned, knowing that there was no other way to respond to his proposal.

"Break…I-I love you!" She turned, and hugged him. He kissed the top of her head.

"Well, as a celebration…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tin and shook it. "It's empty…" he said, disappointed, then set the tin on the table. "Quil, is that butterscotch I smell on your breath?"

"No…" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" He pressed his lips to hers, while Sharon, Oz, Alice, Gil, Elliot, Leo and even Echo laughed. When he pulled away, he sat in the grass, and pulled her into his lap. "You little liar," he teased. She smiled, and looked up at the clear blue sky, content. She no longer cared about what happened in her still hazy past, or even the problems of the present, she only cared about her inevitably bright future.


	23. Unforgotten Past Ch1

Quilla was laying on her side, facing the sleeping silver haired man that she loved deeply. They had been engaged for eight months, and still had two more to wait before the wedding. She lightly traced the illegal contractor's mark on his exposed chest. It was a black reminder of the past engraved on his pale chest. He made soft moaning sound, and opened his single sightless scarlet eye. A small smile lit his features as he hugged her to him.

"Good morning love." Quilla smiled.

"Good morning Break." He cupped her chin in his hand, and kissed her gently. She tangled her fingers in his thick hair to pull him closer, and deepen the kiss, making it more passionate. He grabbed her hips, and rolled over so that he was hovering over her. He smirked, and went to suck, and nip her neck, until there was a knock at the door. They both glanced at the door, and laughed a little.

"Are you guys awake yet? Sharon said she's not letting us eat unless everybody's down there, and Alice is…"

"Hey Seaweed head! Hurry up and wake them, I'm starving!" Alice snapped.

"I'm trying, so shut up you stupid rabbit!" Break laughed.

"Gilbert-kun, be patient with miss Alice, you know she's only good for cleaning the kitchen out!" he scolded teasingly.

"I heard that clown!" Quilla laughed. They got up, and got dressed, and headed down to the drawing room.

"There you are! Can we eat now, can we, can we?" Alice pleaded. Sharon nodded.

"Yes Alice, you may eat," she said with an amused smile. Quilla and Break sat on the couch nest to each other to eat. He, of course, didn't have the breakfast, instead, he had cake.

"So…can we go out in the snow today?" Quilla asked. The first snow of the season had fallen the previous night, and she wanted to take advantage of it. Break groaned.

"You always did like that stuff. I don't get it, it's cold and wet, and not to mention that it has no purpose other than to slow on down," he complained.

"So? It's pretty, and it's not so bad if you dress warmly." She leaned on him, and grabbed his arm. "Please?" she begged. He sighed.

"Fine, not for long though." Quilla smiled.

"Okay!" She waited patiently as he took his time eating, only rolling her eyes when he blamed his blindness for taking him so long to find his long black coat, and put it on. Quilla pulled him out the door after she had gotten her coat, hat, and scarf on. "Do you want to go to the garden or the woods?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Doesn't matter to me." Quilla smiled.

"Woods it is then." As they walked down the path, Quilla's gloved fingers intertwined with Break's. She thought about all of the planning they still had left to do, and began fingering the necklace around her neck.

"Is something wrong Quil?" He asked. She didn't know how he could tell, but he could.

"We still have a lot to plan…" He just chuckled.

"We have Lady Sharon, I think we'll be fine." Quilla hugged him.

"You're right." The path through the woods opened up to a large clearing, where the early afternoon sun was reflecting brightly on the clean, whit snow. She giggled, and pulled Break to the center of the clearing.

"What are you doing?" he questioned nervously.

"Nothing," she replied innocently. Then, she fell backwards, landing softly in the snow, and pulling Break down with her. He gasped, and shivered as he fell, and hit the cold snow. Quilla laughed.

"You little…" He sat up, scooped up some snow, and dropped it next to her. She laughed even harder.

"You missed." He scowled. She quickly got up, and as quietly as possible, ran around behind him. He stood, and she picked up some snow, and hit him square in the back. Break whipped around.

"That was dirty you little cheater!" he snapped, but he couldn't hide his amusement. After hitting Break several times, and getting nothing more than a few misaimed snowballs in return, Quilla decided to go back in. "I'm freezing now!" he complained, his rosy cheeks proving it. She just laughed a little.

"Sorry." As they walked back down the path, she noticed an owl sitting in a tree, just staring at them. She though it was bizarre for a moment, then figured it was nothing, and continued on.


	24. Unforgotten Past Ch2

When they got in, Break and Quilla went to their room to change into dry clothes. Quilla helped Break dig out another shirt, seeing as she had been babying him ever since she had found out that he was blind. She found a shirt, and walked over to him. She saw the nearly invisible scars that ran across his chest and back from the chains that had dragged him into the abyss.

"Lift your arms up." He raised a brow.

"What?"

"You heard me." He sighed.

"I can dress myself." Quilla shrugged.

"Too bad." With annoyance, he did as he was told, and lifted his arms over his head so she could pull the shirt on. "There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" He shook his head, but not to agree with her.

"Quil, you don't seem to understand. You don't have to go out of your way for me. Yes, I may need help with some things, but overall, I can manage on my own," he stated. She hugged him.

"I think it's you who doesn't understand Break. I am perfectly aware that you can take care of your self, however-"

"If you're aware, then-" She put a finger to his lips.

"However, we, though it hasn't been made official through marriage quite yet, are a couple. Which means we're partners. We have to be prepared to hold one another's burdens, and feel one another's pain. We have to be ready to support each other through thick and thin to ease the hardships we may face," she explained, holding his face in her hands. His eye widened, then he moved his hand over yours.

"I suppose you're right." Suddenly, he turned around to face the door. Quilla looked over his shoulder to see Sharon standing there, an awestruck expression on her face.

"Uh…Sharon?" Her lips formed into a grin.

"That was absolutely beautiful! If only Alice and Oz could see this…"

"Um, Oujou-sama, did you need something?" Break asked, confused.

"…that's how true love should be…"

"Oujou-sama?" She shook her head, and laughed nervously.

"Oh, excuse me. Break, Reim is here. He said something about Duke Barma needing to meet with you." He scowled.

"What could that sorry excuse of a duke want?" he muttered to himself, then nodded. "Tell Reim-san that I'll be right there." Quilla finished changing, then followed Break to meet Reim. He was a tall lean man with sandy brown hair, and brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. "Hello Reim-san." Break said with a cheerful smile.

"Xerxes, why haven't you been to Pandora?" He shrugged.

"I've been busy. Reim, I'd like you to meet Quilla. Quil, this is a friend of mine from Pandora." Quilla nodded, and smiled.

"Nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well." Break walked over, and sat on the table in front of Reim, so she took the chair. Break felt for a fork, which he had recently gotten comfortable with, and stole Reim's cake.

"Sho, what wash it you wan'ned to shay?" he asked, without bothering to take the fork out of his mouth.

"Duke Barma needs me to inform you that in a couple of weeks, you will be departing on a mission." Break cocked an eyebrow, and removed the fork from his mouth.

"For how long?"

"About a month. He said it would be some reconnaissance, and then hopefully you could help us apprehend the illegal contractor." Break shook his head.

"I can't." Reim looked incredulous.

"Xerxes! You can't just refuse orders!" Break laid back on the table, and held the fork up, twirling it in his fingers.

"I can't. As much as I would love to, I have more important things to worry about." Reim rolled his eyes.

"What could you have to do that's more important than your job?"

"The holidays and my wedding."

"Wedding?" Reim looked at him for a moment, then at Quilla. She cocked her head to the side, smiling. Reim slammed his head into his hand. "Well let me put it this way Xerxes, I'm not telling him that you aren't going. If you don't go, you're going to Pandora yourself, and telling him that you aren't taking the mission." Break shrugged.

"Fine." Reim left, annoyed.

"You cold have gone, I'm sure you would be back in time." He sat up, and glanced in your direction.

"I know that."

"Then why-" A mischievous grin spread across his face.

"I just didn't feel like it."

"Break!" she snapped. "It's your job!"

"Somebody else can handle it. I just don't want to go, especially if it's for Rufus Barma's sake." Quilla rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh at his laziness, and childish defiance.

"Well, speaking of the holidays, how do you guys celebrate?" He shrugged.

"I wouldn't know." Quilla stood in front of him.

"What?"

"I never celebrated with the others, I just…excluded myself I guess." He let himself fall back, and rested his feet on Quilla's shoulders.

"Well, are you celebrating this year?"

"Of course, you're here this year." He moved his feet to wrap his legs around her waist, and pull her down on top of him. "I finally had my wish come true, so yes, I'm celebrating." She hugged him.

"Good, cause I would make you, whether you liked it or not."


	25. Unforgotten Past Ch3

Break's POV

"I'm going!" Break called. "I'll be back in an hour!"

"Do you need me to go with you?" Quilla asked with concern. Break shook his head.

"I'll be fine. I've been to Pandora headquarters enough times to go through it blind," he assure her. He could feel her gaze resting on him.

"Alright." He felt for the door knob, and went out the door to meet Reim in a carriage. He sat and sighed.

"I'm afraid that I might know what this is about…" Break muttered.

"You never know." Break snorted.

"With that man, yes I do know Reim." He pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, and popped it in his mouth, letting the sweet thing melt over his tongue and relax him.

"Xerxes?"

"Hmm?" Reim was silent for a moment.

"Married…it doesn't seem like you at all," he said, changing the subject. Break closed his eye, smiling.

"I know, the others were surprised as well, even her, when I asked her to…when I told her I wanted her to be…" The words still felt strange coming from his mouth, as if they didn't belong to him. "Anyways, before you changed the subject, my point was that I'm not doing Rufus' bidding. I never have, and I don't plan on staring now, especially when I know why he wants me going on these missions. I'm not going to let hm catch me so easily." Reim sighed.

"Break, you know he's not going to stop."

"I know…" he stated, annoyed. The rest of the ride was silent. They arrived at the headquarters, and Break followed the sound of Reim's footsteps to the meeting hall. He took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Mad Hatter, or should I say, Kevin Regnard?" Break glared.

"Rufus Barma." He couldn't see, but he could easily picture the condescending frown on the red-headed man's lips.

"Sit." Break found a seat, and did so.

"What do you want Barma?" Break heard footsteps behind him.

"I would like to know why you have refused yet another mission of mine?" Break smirked.

"Other than the fact that your missions are a complete waste of my time? Well, I happen to have a wedding coming up. I am required to attend, seeing as it's mine." Break assumed he didn't take kindly to his biting response, because he heard Rufus huff.

"Ah, that girl you were with the other day?" Break frowned.

"Don't worry, I've been keeping an eye on you, and your little sweetheart. You know what I've discovered? That she was the girl who accompanied you in all of those murders, and then into the Abyss. You know what that could mean for her…" Break gritted his teeth, slammed his hands on the table, and stood, whipping around to face the direction of the voice. Break looked up slightly, because he knew that Rufus was at least a head taller than him.

"Leave…her…out of this!" he growled. Rufus chuckled.

"You're leaving for Belladonna after the holidays." Break's eye widened.

"No, I'm not."

"You are, unless you would rather me take that girl into custody." Break gripped the left side of his face, and made sure his chair was still in the same position, before sitting down. His breathing became a little heavier as thoughts an memories whirred in his mind. Belladonna was a peaceful town, his home town. It was where he had happily served the Sinclairs, and where he had met Quilla. It was also where he had wreaked havoc upon innocent citizens in the cover of the night. It was the place he had vowed never to return to. "Well Hatter?" Break clenched his fists for a moment, then loosened his muscles, sighing.

"Very well, I'll go, but you will not lay a hand on Tranquilla." Rufus laughed a little, and Break heard him open the door.

"Remember, after the holidays. Oh, and only Reim may accompany you." Break got up, and wobbled a little bit, but steadied himself on the chair. He walked past Rufus, and was joined by Reim outside the door. "I'm glad you saw It my way Xerxes."

"Go to hell," Break muttered. Reim didn't dare speak with him, so the ride back was quiet. They got back, and Break mumbled a quick goodbye to Reim, then went in.

"You're back! How did things go?" Not wanting to tell Quilla how distraught he was, he smiled, hiding behind his fools façade.

"I actually will be going. Now that Duke Barma has explained the details of the case, it sounds rather interesting," he lied.

"Oh, when are you leaving?"

"After the holidays. Don't worry, I will be back in time," Break assured her. She was silent for a moment, which worried him.

"Is something wrong?" Break shook his head, slightly surprised.

"Of course not, everything is absolutely fantastic!" he said, and just to convince her that he was fine, he asked, "Now, is there any cake out?" She just laughed a little.

"Yes, there's cake out, come on." Break followed the sound of her footsteps, still not completely relieved. He knew she was going to find out how unsettled he was eventually.


	26. Unforgotten Past Ch4

A few days passed, and Quilla found herself struggling to think of a gift for Break, and the holidays were only a couple of days away. She had found a nice necklace for Sharon, and for Gil, a new pistol. For Oz, she bought a hat that he had been wanting for a while, while Alice was to be getting tons of meat. She had even managed to find a pocket knife for Elliot, some great books for Leo, and even a set of throwing knives for Echo. She let her head fall to the table, moaning out of pain and frustration.

"What's wrong Quil?" Oz asked, walking in on her in her pitiful state.

"I can't think of a present for Break…He keeps insisting that I don't need to get anything for him, but, I can't just not get hm something! He's my fiancé for Abyss's sake!"

"How a bout candy," he stated bluntly, as though he thought she was an idiot for not thinking of it.

"Well, yeah, that's the obvious option, but it's too simple. I need to give him something special." He thought for a moment.

"Cake?"

"That's just plain lazy if I simply go and buy him a cake."

"Bake it yourself." She picked her head up, and looked at him, smiling.

"Oz, you're a genius, thank you!" She bolted up, gave him a quick hug, grabbed her coat, and ran out the door. She walked to the market as quickly as the shin deep snow would allow. When she got there, Quilla ran through all of the needed ingredients. "Okay, lets see…butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, yeast, and salt Then there's the filling…hmmm…strawberries! Strawberry filling with chocolate frosting, so that means I need some coca powder…" She rambled on to herself, ignoring the odd looks she received from passers by. She ran around town, stopping in various stores for the ingredients. She had almost everything she needed, when she saw several Pandora workers that Break had introduced her to, and figured she could say hello. She started towards them, until she caught a snippet of their conversation.

"So Rufus is sending you to Belladonna as well?" One of them nodded.

"Yeah, he's sending a lot of us, what could possibly be so dangerous in such a quiet town?"

"Who knows," stated another. "I think he said something about an illegal contractor." Quilla couldn't help but eavesdrop when she heard the name of her hometown, and now she was concerned. She ran up to them.

"Excuse me, but, did you say something about Belladonna being in trouble?" They all looked at her.

"Yeah, why? It's not really something you should be getting yourself involved in Miss," one of them responded.

"Do you know if Break was sent on this mission, I know Rufus spoke with him about a mission a few days ago."

"Break? Xerxes Break? Yeah, I think Duke Barma said we were going to be meeting the Mad Hatter there. He didn't really elaborate though. He just said he would give us some more information before we left." Quilla frowned.

"Why is this of any concern to you Miss?" another man questioned.

"Belladonna is our hometown, Break's and mine that is. It just worries me that something is happening there that's bad enough to get Pandora involved…"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of everything," he assured. She thanked them for the information, and left, with the full intention of asking Break what his mission was.


	27. Unforgotten Past Ch5

It was the day before the holiday, Elliot and Leo went to the Rainsworth mansion, and everybody was busy putting up decorations, and having a great time. At one point, the garland that Gil had finished hanging came undone right after he stepped down from the ladder, and fell in a heap on top of him. Everybody burst out laughing, especially Oz and Alice. Break had attempted to help him fix it, but it ended up completely crooked, making everybody laugh once again. Oz decided t light candles all over the inside of the house, and nearly caught the table cloth, which Sharon had laid out especially for the occasion, on fire. For that, he received several sharp whacks from her paper fan, but Quilla didn't actually see it. All she heard were Oz's screams, and several smacking sounds that resounded through the mansion. Alice didn't do much, except for make fun of everybody's mistakes. At another point, in the middle of the day, Gil was cleaning, and knocked a vase over. Quilla had been unaware, as she happily set out green candles on the table. Oz had ended up tackling her to get her out of the way.

"Hey Oz, what do you think you're doing? You're my manservant!" Alice had snapped. The commotion had made Break enter the room to find out what was going on. "Hey clown, Oz is fraternizing with Quilla!" Break had just glanced in they're general direction, grinning wickedly at Oz.

"Oh Oz-kun, I may not be able to see, but a noisy brat like you wouldn't be so hard to chase down." Oz had gone pale. Quilla sighed, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Break, it's fine, he was just trying to stop a vase from hitting me." Alice nodded.

"Yeah, it's all seaweed head's fault!"

"It was an accident you stupid rabbit!" Sharon had set out trays of assorted foods for everybody to snack on throughout the day. There were plates of succulent sausages and juicy slices of ham, for Alice, and tons of hard candies and chocolates for Break. She had also taken the time to make finger sandwiches, which Echo seemed to enjoy, and tea for everybody. As the sun was setting, everybody decided to go out in the snow one more time for the day. Quilla took this opportunity to sneak into the kitchen. Once in there, she grabbed all of the ingredients, and began throwing the together for the batter. She hummed to herself contentedly for a while as she mixed it, then, since the batter wasn't thickening, she stopped, and focused on stirring a little harder. After what felt like hours of whisking the stubborn batter, she lost it, stirring frantically. She grunted.

"Why the hell isn't this working?"

"Why isn't what working?"

"This stupid cake batter won't thicken! I need to finish this quickly, because I don't have time to start over!" she snapped angrily. "If I don't finish this, then I…"

"You what?"

"I won't have anything for Break! I have to finish this cake tonight! Especially since he hasn't celebrated the holidays in years, I need to make this special…for…him." She felt a hand slide down one of her arms to find the hand that was holding the bowl, then another hand grasped the hand that was beating the batter, slowing her down.

"It's never going to thicken if you stir as hard as you were. I could hear your racket from the other room." Quilla's face turned bright red.

"Break! You weren't supposed to-"

"I don't care if the present is a surprise or not, The fact that you even bothered is enough to make me happy." She frowned.

"But…"

"Ah, ah, ah. Like I said, I don't care, so don't argue." She smiled.

"Fine" She finally felt the batter beginning to thicken, and quickly dipped her finger in, and dabbed it on Break's cheek.

"Hey, what was that for?" She shrugged.

"I felt like it." He dipped his finger in as well, swiping it across her whole face. "Hey! I didn't put that much on you!" He laughed.

"Too bad." They both began laughing.

"I'm back with the wine!" Elliot called. Quilla and Break looked at each other, chuckling. Leo poked his head into the kitchen.

"Do either of you want a glass?" Quilla nodded.

"Why not?"

"I'll have some too!" Break exclaimed cheerfully. They put the cake in the oven, and Quilla poured Break, and herself a glass of wine.

"Cheers!" they all exclaimed in celebration. Aster an hour, Quilla found herself surrounded by her drunk friends, all except for Elliot and Leo, who were both reading by the fire, and Echo, who was fast asleep next to Gil. She and Break decided to go back into the kitchen to decorate the cake before anything happened between Gil and Alice.

"Hey Quil, what's this?" Break asked, running his fingers over the jar of strawberry preserves. She stood, mouth agape.

"I forgot the strawberries! I am such an idiot!" He chuckled.

"Hey, it's fine, I'm sure the cake will still taste good. Now, where's the frosting?" She picked up the frosting she had whipped up, and put it in his hands.

"There." He dipped a finger in, and tasted it.

"Mmm, chocolate, good choice. Honestly, I never knew you were so good with food." She smiled.

"Thank you." She quickly spread the frosting over the cakes, and decided to put some of the strawberry preserves on top, figuring that it would they would taste just as good on top of the cake as they would in it. "What should we do with the extra frosting?" Quilla asked. Break just smirked.

"Come here." She walked over to him.

"What…?" He put a hand into the frosting, and slapped it onto her cheek. She just stood there, shocked for a moment. She looked at him.

"Quil?" he asked after a moment of silence. She grinned, stuck her hand in the frosting as well, and spread it all over his face. Then, she burst out laughing. "You really shouldn't have done that Quil," he said, trying to act threatening, but he couldn't hold his laughter back. He felt for the jar of strawberry preserves, and when he had it, he held it up.

"You wouldn't…" He grinned. She backed away as slowly possible, hoping that he wouldn't hear her footsteps.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm not going any-" As she spoke, she slipped on some flour that had spilled onto the floor, and fell backwards with a yelp. Break chuckled, and approached her.

"Let's see, do I help you or…" He loomed over her. "Sorry love," he said with a grin. With that, he tipped the preserves over her head. She just sat there, stunned, as the strawberries and the juices ran through her hair, and dripped down her face. She stood up slowly, and grabbed some of the strawberries off of her head. Break was laughing hysterically merely at the thought of what she might look like, since he couldn't actually see her.

"Oh Break…" He stopped laughing, and looked in her direction with a childish smile.

"Yes?" She threw the strawberries at him, and they hit him right in the face. He just laughed. "Is that really the best you can do?" She smiled.

"No, you're right, it's not." She grabbed the frosting and its spoon. "Perhaps this is better. She stirred the frosting to make it easier to get out, then turned it over his head. She used her hands to wipe it all down, through his hair, and over his face.

"Perhaps that did work a bit better," he stated, then smirked. "But I shouldn't be hogging all of the chocolate." Break grabbed Quilla's hands, and rested his forehead on hers, moving his head back and forth. Then he nuzzled her cheeks, getting chocolate all over there as well. "You know, I'm glad I found my present early, otherwise, we wouldn't have had all of this fun." With that, he kissed her. Her arms wound around his neck, while his snaked around her waist.

"Maybe we should clean up…" she said, after they pulled away. He agreed, and Quilla went to take a bath, while Break started cleaning what he could of the kitchen. When she was done in the bath, Break took his, while Quilla finished cleaning the kitchen, and waited in front of the fire. Everybody else was passed out on the chairs and couches. When Break came down, she pulled down to sit next to her, and he shook his, still wet, head to intentionally splatter her with water.

"You know, it's past midnight, which means it's the holiday." Quilla smiled.

" I suppose it is. Happy holidays." He gave her a gentle smile, and ran his long finger over her lips.

"That also means that I have to leave tomorrow." When he said that, it reminded Quilla of what she had been meaning to ask.

"Where is your mission?"

"Belladonna, does that ring a bell?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I heard some Pandora members talking about it in the market, an I figured I should ask you about it." He nodded in understanding.

"Well, seeing as this is the last day before I leave for a while, and it's the holiday…" Quilla leaned on Break. He smiled, and picked her up, carrying her to bed.


	28. Unforgotten Past Ch6

_Quilla woke up to Break nuzzling her neck. She giggled because his hair tickled._

"_Stop it!" _

"_Then get up, I want to eat my cake!" He quickly kissed her neck, and rolled out of bed to find his clothes. Quilla followed suit, and after getting dressed, handed Break the shirt he had been feeling for. _

"_Looking for something?" He glanced at her, pouting slightly. _

"_I can do it myself…" She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. To her, he seemed like a child just learning to be independent, and taking full advantage of it. She grabbed everybody's gifts and headed downstairs with Break. They found Elliot playing the piano, which was rarely used, while everybody else gathered in the drawing room, eating and having fun. _

"_Good morning everyone!" Quilla exclaimed cheerfully, laying the presents out on the ground. "I got each of you a little something." They all looked from the presents to her. _

"_Really? Thank you Quilla!" Oz said happily. _

"_Yes, I appreciate it!" Leo stated. _

"_So does Echo…" Echo said quietly. They all opened what Quilla had gotten them, and she received an individual thank you from each of them, except for Alice, who was too bust eating her meat to do so. Break poked her. _

"_What about me?" he questioned with an imploring look._

"_Alright, alright. Let me get it from the kitchen." He smiled, and followed her to grab his cake, and bring it back out to the room. She set it down, saying, "Happy holidays Break!" He licked his lips. _

"_Where's the knife?" She glanced at him._

"_Um…perhaps I should cut it…" she stated. He frowned, but didn't argue. She handed him a slice of the cake, and he devoured it, and then made quick work of the rest of the cake. Afterwards, Quilla sat on the couch, while Break lazily laid his head in her lap. She played with his hair a little bit. _

"_I don't want to go tomorrow…" he whined. _

"_I thought you changed your mind because it sounded interesting?" His ruby eye suddenly filled with a mixture of anger and sadness that was so deep, it was hard to believe that his eye was sightless. _

"_Well…I just…don't feel like leaving." He turned on to his side. _

"_I could go with you!" she said hopefully. He shook his head. _

"_You can't. Rufus only wants the Pandora workers that he assigned to the to be involved…" Quilla sighed, and tried to push her disappointment away, figuring that it was better to make the day before his mission a happy one for Break. _

"_So, what do you want to do today?" she asked. He shrugged._

"_What is everybody else doing?" Quilla glanced at Sharon for the answer._

"_Well, we were going to go outside for a little while, then warm up with some tea." Break just shook his head. _

"_You can go without me. I don't want to go out in the cold…" Quilla put a hand on his cheek. _

"_What's wrong? Just a little while ago, you were cheerful, and now you're all…pouty," she said cautiously, not wanting to upset him further. _

"_Once I realized that I had to leave tomorrow, it just dampened my mood…my apologies." Quilla frowned, not happy with his lack of elaboration. She dropped the issue until the others went outside._

"_Break, why does this mission have you so worked up?" Instead of answering, he pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch, and draped it over himself. "Break." He sighed. _

"_I'm not going to be back for a while…"_

"_You said-" _

"_I know what I said." he snapped, then more softly continued. "But the more I dwell on it…the more I realize…" He dug his nails into Quilla's leg._

"_Realize what?" He shook his head._

"_Nothing. I'm going to go get ready." With that, he got up, and left, leaving Quilla very confused._

_Break's POV _

_Break got to their room, and laid down face first on the bed. After he had woken up, and eaten his cake, his mind had left the cheerful atmosphere surrounding the rest of the mansion. Instead, he found himself dwelling on his mission. The more he thought about it, the harder it was to keep his anger and fear back. He knew what the outcome was going to be if went, but he also knew that the outcome would be worse if he didn't go. With him going, he was only putting himself in danger, but if he chose to stay, he knew that Quilla would be in trouble as well. He got up, groaning. There was a knock at the door._

"_Come in." _

"_Break…do you need help packing?" Quilla asked. He sighed._

"_Sure." He sat back down on the bed, while he could hear Quilla opening and closing the closet, and drawers. When it got quiet, he felt her get onto the bed, and sit next to him. He hugged her to him._

"_You don't have to tell me what's got you so upset, but…at least don't let it distract you to the point where something actually does go wrong…" He nuzzled, and kissed the top of her head._

"_I promise." _


	29. Unforgotten Past Ch7

Break's POV

Break woke up early, searched for his clothes, got dressed, kissed Quilla on the forehead. He waited for Reim to show up, and when he did, Break sighed. "Are you ready to Xerxes?" he asked.

"I need you to do one thing for me before we go…" he said.

"What would that be?"

"I need you to write a message to Quilla. I don't know the full truth of this mission, but I'm sure you do…I need you to tell her exactly what this mission is going to entail. She deserves to know just how corrupt Rufus Barma is." Break spat duke Barma's name with disgust and contempt.

"But Break-" He whipped to face the direction that Reim's voice came from, his eye burning with many emotions.

"You know exactly what's going to happen, and Quilla deserves to know too! I know that if you don't write this now, in a few weeks, you're going to be back here, lying to her face! Barma will have some story made up about how I was killed by the illegal contractor, and that will be that! She won't know that he's a horrible, sick man!" A silence followed Break's outburst.

"Very well, but if she knows the truth…there's no way of knowing how she's going to react," Reim explained.

"Don't you think I know that…all I can do is hope that she doesn't act impulsively…"

Tranquilla's POV 

"Sharon! Gil! Oz! Alice! I have to go to Belladonna!" Quilla called urgently, getting her coat on, and bolting for the door. She swung the door open, but before she could actually leave, someone grabbed her from behind, and dragged her back, then kicked the door closed. She struggled, hitting and kicking whoever had such a strong grip on her.

"Let…go!" she grunted.

"Quilla, calm…down…" Gil struggled to say, as he took several elbows to his stomach.

"I….have to…help…Break!" she yelled.

"Break can…handle himself!" Gil snapped back. "Honestly, what's gotten into you?" Slowly she relaxed, then hung in Gil's arms limply. He set her down, and keeled beside her. "Quil, what's wrong?" She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. His brow furrowed. "Quil?" She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a piece of folded paper, handing it to him.

"Reim left this…" Gil gave her a confused look, but took the paper, and began reading it. As he read, his eyes widened.

"This…this can't be right…"

"This mission was a trap…Barma's sentencing to death…" she said, her tears sliding down her cheeks. Gil shook his head.

"No…he isn't going to kill Break…"

"He's not?" Quilla asked hopefully.

"No…whenever an illegal contractor is punished by Duke Barma, they're…they're…"

"They're what?"

"They're sentenced to the Abyss," Sharon said, entering the room. "What are you two talking about?" Quilla, who had been overcome by her tears, just shook her head, so Gil read the not out loud, shakily.

"Dear Tranquilla, Break wants you to know the truth, so here it is. Once in Belladonna, in the abandoned mansion, that was once the residence of the Sinclairs, Break is going to be ambushed by Pandora members. He is going to be restrained, and taken into custody as Kevin Regnard. He will then be returned to Pandora for a trial of the Dukes, however, Duke Barma will have the final word, and he will be punished accordingly. Ultimately, this will be the end of Xerxes Break, for Duke Barma has tried for years to get rid of him. You have my greatest apologies, my deepest condolences, and all of Xerxes' love. Sincerely, Reim Lunettes." Gil finished, and Quilla was reduced to a sobbing heap, while Sharon stood there, stunned, eyes watering. She bit her lip, and shook her head.

"Alright…we have to save Break," she declared.

"H-how?" Quilla asked.

"Yeah, there are only a few of us, what can we do against the whole of Pandora?" Gil asked.

"We'll come up with a plan, I promise."


End file.
